The Village Hidden in the Blue
by Splint
Summary: Following Pain's invasion, Tsunade worries about the safety of her village. And with Naruto temporarily exiled, the Fifth Hokage turns to her protege and sends her off on a mission that will make her stronger...if it doesn't kill her first. Chapter 6 up!
1. New Mission

Disclaimer: Standard stuff. Naruto and it's related characters and settings are the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is a fanmade story and is not for profit. Any similarities with any real persons, places, events is strictly coincidental. Got it? Okay then.

A/N: This story takes place in roughly the same time frame as the "Confining the Hosts" story arc.

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Konohagakure. A day after Naruto left.

Sakura couldn't remember a more busier day of her life. This includes the time of her brutal training with Tsunade, which she thought would never be topped in terms of the fatigue and stress she received in the span of a single day. But that was what she wanted apparently: fatigue and stress.

Copious amounts of them.

The moment she woke up that morning, she made a bee line for the hospital where her talents as a med-nin were still in high demand. Pain may have been nice enough to resurrect all those he had killed during his invasion but the man either failed or simply didn't bother to heal _injuries_ sustained in battle. Oh well, better than being six foot under, right?

Sakura busied herself checking up and healing where she could the numerous patients around the still overcrowded hospital, speeding up the recovery of bone fractures, bruises, and other superficial wounds. For the still more serious injuries she supervised the nursing staff (most of whom are pretty new. Pain picked a nice time to invade when the Hospital was just breaking in some new recruits). She did all this until the sun set on the Hidden Leaf. She ended up tired but it seemed as though she wasn't tired enough.

Because the reason why she was pushing herself so hard, the reason why she was trying to get her mind occupied with an overload of all the usual mundane tasks she's been _bored_ with ever since she became the Hokage's apprentice, was to forget.

To forget their _reunion_.

"Heh..." Sakura scoffed at the thought. "Some kind of reunion that was..."

She was of course thinking about the brief reuniting of Team 7 following the battle at the Five Kage Summit. Even after nearly a week has past, it was still fresh in her mind. The second time in a long time she was reunited with her old crush, Uchiha Sasuke (the first time being that encounter at one of Orochimaru's old hideouts, which was no more pleasant as the second encounter) She thought to how in the end, no matter how hard she tried, she was still too weak to do anything by herself and she ended up hurting her friends.

In the end, she still had to count on Naruto to save the day. She had to depend on Mr. Dead-Last of the academy. She had to depend on Konoha's number one knuckle-headed, most unpredictable ninja.

Thinking about Naruto, she couldn't deny how immensely proud of him she was. To come so far is such a short amount of time. To gain such power that most ninja could only dream of. Pushing himself so far just by himself, using nothing more than that dream of his to carry him on. Sakura knew it was no longer a dream. It was inevitable, destined even. Naruto _will _become the Hokage. And he will become a great Hokage at that. He sure as hell deserved that opportunity.

And while Naruto took leaps and bounds towards his goal on almost a weekly basis...she was crawling along in comparison. She couldn't hide the truth that compared to her two former teammates, she was well below the established bar. Even Sasuke has progressed leaps and bounds. As misguided and twisted his goals were, those same goals were what drove Sasuke to the point where he could take on and entire summit of Kage ninjas plus their bodyguards. And the gap between her and them simply grew day by day in those same leaps and bounds. She could barely stand it.

But it wasn't really the issue about strength and skill that bothered her. She _had_ strength and skill and knew well how to use them to great effect. Even a Kage would be lucky to be breathing after even just one solid punch from Sakura. No, it wasn't the strength comparison that was the issue. That wasn't what she was trying to tire her mind enough to stop thinking about.

The issue was about...

"Sakura," called out Kakashi who suddenly appeared in the doorway of the storeroom.

Sakura, who was in the process of grabbing a few bottles of medicine from the shelves, stiffened at the sudden appearance of the jounin.

"Kakashi-sensei," she answered back. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"I could say the same thing about you."

"What do you mean?"

"You're not supposed to be on duty today. Yet since this morning, you spent the last thirteen hours here. It's past seven in the evening already. And you haven't even taken a break or so says the staff around here."

Thirteen hours? That surprised her a bit. She completely lost track of time.

"Well, there were plenty of people who still need healing," she retorted.

"All of whom would've probably recovered soon enough even if you weren't here."

"But in the villages current state, it would be best to get as many of the injured back on their feet to help with the reconstruction effort as well as re-establishing the villages security."

Kakashi let out a sigh through his mask. Ever the by-the-book ninja, that Sakura.

"Alright...we've been summoned to the Hokage's office."

Kakashi decided to go straight to the point. A little more surprise from Sakura's expression. "Well, um...I'm kinda a little busy-"

"Which you shouldn't really be at this point. Just give those to another nurse and let's go to the Hokage's office before she bites our heads off for being late."

"But...I..."

There was a expression in Sakura's face that flashed for a second there. And expression that Kakashi didn't need to use the sharingan for to spot. It looked like desperation. Longing for escape. Kakashi let out an exasperated sigh.

"Walk with me, Sakura," he said.

She looked a little confused now. "Walk?"

"It's a pretty long walk to the Hokage's office from here. We can talk on the way. What? You're too good to talk to your old sensei?"

Sakura blinked, then gave a wry smile. "But didn't you say that Tsunade-sama might be mad if we're late?"

"Have you forgotten who you're talking to here?"

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A short time later.

Konoha at night was a little different now much of the once tall structures that dominated the streets were...well...torn down unceremoniously. The two nin had a clear view of the night sky which was cloudless this night. It was also very quiet. Understandable now that the day was over and the citizens were now resting easy after a hard day's work in rebuilding the village. None of the usual hustle and bustle of the nightlife could be detected. The pair took their sweet time walking to the Hokage's office enjoying the calm atmosphere.

Well, Kakashi at least. Sukura had her eyes to the pavement, expression as forlorn as when Kakashi first saw her tonight. I should say something, thought Kakashi. It would be the "sensei" thing to do. And it looks like she needs a few friendly words right now.

Kakashi was about to say something when Sakura beat him to it.

"I'm envious of them," she said.

A moment of silence followed. Kakashi digested that short statement quickly. Though he didn't have to ask, he wanted to hear it from her. "Of who?"

"Naruto and Sasuke."

Kakashi let out another exasperated sigh. "Well, I've always said that you were the most normal person of the team. Naruto had the Kyubii in him plus he had the Yondaime's heritage to boot. Sasuke was just a born genius. A prodigy. Plus his sharingan didn't hurt his progress. No one is really surprised those two got that strong so quickly but you shouldn't really beat yourself up over a difference in-"

"That's...not what I'm talking about. It's...not a question of strength for me. I thought it was a question of strength at first. And that's why I trained hard with Tsunade-sama."

"But that wasn't it, huh?"

"No...it wasn't...It was more about..."

She trailed off and seemed to be gathering her thoughts. Kakashi patiently waited for her to continue.

"They had a bond Kakashi-sensei," said Sakura.

Another short pause as Sakura gathered the words in her head. Kakashi could see that this was soemthing she really wanted to get off her chest.

"They had a connection. They understood each other on a level I could never fathom. Even though it was clear that Sasuke doesn't care what Naruto had to say to him, I could see it in his eyes. Beyond his sharingan and deep into his eyes. I could see a look of sympathy. Sasuke connected with Naruto's words in a way I can never understand. and only Naruto can read between all the bullshit Sasuke keeps spouting out. Naruto can see his true feelings and he can answer them in kind...I can't do that. I wish I could...as their teammate I _should_ be able to...but I only feel that gap in our feelings grow wider. I thought at first that, if I could just match their strength. If I train hard enough to be on par with their skills, but...I still couldn't reach them...in the places that mattered. Do you...understand me sensei?"

"...So...You really do still feel for Sasuke don't you, Sakura?"

The Kunoichi blushed. "Yeah, I suppose."

"...It's not like I've lost all my feelings for Sasuke either as a former student of mine."

Sakura looked up curiously at Kakashi as he continued. "No matter how far he fell from Grace, the Sandime still loved Orochimaru. In the end he couldn't give up on all that hope he had for his most promising student. I now know how Sarutobi-sama felt. My decision to try and take his life back at the Land of Lightning was probably one of the hardest decisions I've ever made."

Sakura cringed at the memory. "Sorry about that."

"Don't be. I made that decision to protect my precious students. I don't regret it. A ninja shouldn't seek things to regret, Sakura. Simply keep looking ahead and don't lose sight of the things you hold dear."

"Oh...I see. Thank you sensei."

"And to be honest. I'm also jealous of that bond of theirs. It's a bond that goes deeper than simple arch rivalry. It's like those two live in their own separate niche in the world."

"I suppose so. So you don't think it's weird for me?...To have these feelings."

"Sakura...when you were younger your feelings for Sasuke was just the same immature idol worship as every other girl in your age group. But unlike them, your feelings actually matured. Your feelings for Sasuke are genuinely heartfelt and it's only natural that you yearn for those feelings to reach across to him."

"Oh...I'm glad you don't think it's weird."

"Sakura, it's called growing up. Nothing's weird about growing up."

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At the Hokage's office.

With the actual Hokage residence still mostly in ruin from the Pain invasion, Tsunade was in a temporary office that was setup in one of the rooms inside the Konoha Library, one of the few facilities that was unaffected by the attack due to the fact that it was built deep inside the Hokage Monument. Sakura always felt at home here in the library where she spent a lot of her training simply studying medical theory.

The duo passed through rows and rows of books and scrolls and a multitude people picking up literature on a number of subjects until they reached a large set of double doors near the back guarded by two Jounin. Upon seeing Sakura and Kakashi, they exchanged nods of recognition and opened the door to the Hokage's temporary office.

The temporary office was actually an large archive where old mission reports, town blueprints, bingo books, strategical maps, and other things were stored, providing an in-depth insight to Konoha's history. The walls were filled with old books and scrolls and the empty space in the middle was were the Hokage's desk was setup. Sakura quickly found Tsunade sitting behind her desk (which is still full of unfinished paperwork) Shizune standing next to her, a couple of ANBU standing guard, and, unexpectedly, Team 10 seated on a couch to the left. Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji all stood up as Kakashi and Sakura entered.

"Well, Kakashi," said Tsunade with acid in her tone, "what's the excuse this time for arriving nearly an hour late?"

"Uhhhh...A wagon full of nuns crashed?" said Kakashi with a shrug.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. Really now, what was she expecting from the Copy-nin? "...Ok, you're not even trying anymore. Nevermind, just stand there and listen, all of you. I have to brief you now."

"You're sending us on a mission at a time like this, Tsunade-sama?" asked Sakura.

"Yes, I am."

"Wouldn't it be more prudent if we all stay here for the village's security?" asked Chouji.

"If you're worried about that, don't worry. Our shinobi forces are nearly back to full strength and thanks to the alliance, we'll be getting reinforcements from our good friends the Suna by this time tomorrow. The village is pretty secure as far as I'm concerned. And besides, these missions I have for you are vital to village security in their own way."

"Why pick us?" asked Shikamaru. "This is so troublesome. I'd rather stay to keep the village secure."

"Don't you mean to keep an eye on Kurenai-sensei?" asked Ino with a slight grin.

Shikamaru blushed a bit. "Well...it's on my to-do list."

"Why did I pick you guys?" continued Tsunade. "Simple. In the very short list of people who have faced the Akatsuki and prevailed, you people make up the bulk of that list."

Kakashi nodded and looked towards his juniors. Sakura was instrumental in defeating Sasori of the Red Sand, with the help of the late Lady Chiyo. and Team 10 was there when they defeated Hidan and Kakuzu. Naruto had deafeated Pain and managed to get that woman Konan to leave the group. And, from what he knew, Sasuke allegedly finished off members Diedara, his brother Itachi, and former member Orochimaru. The tall one, Kisame, was allegedly killed by A, the Raikage, and his brother, Killer Bee.

The Hokage was right, it was a short list. Kakashi felt a little bit of pride that the majority of that list were Leaf ninjas (even if Sasuke was on the dark side now).

Tsunade reached into her drawer and pulled out a small book and tossed it too Kakashi. Kakashi caught the book easily, opened it, and observed it was a mini bingo book of sorts, listing twenty people with some fairly detailed information on each name.

"As you know," started the Hokage, "the Akatsuki was composed of ten primary members, all of whom S-class criminals. However, it is also known that a few of the members kept outside connections active and even had entire troops of rouge ninjas working for them as spy networks and mercenaries. We believe this was how Orochimaru started his personal village, the Otogakure. Another member was known to keep an extensive network of spies and that was Sasori. All of the names in that book are known spies that work for him."

Kakashi nodded, already getting the drift of the briefing. He finished skimming the contents of the bingo book then handed over to Sakura for her to check it out.

"So the mission now," said Kakashi, "is to track down these spies, find out if their alive, and squeeze any information out of them regarding the remaining forces of Akatsuki. Is that right?"

"Yes, pretty much. Even though Anko's team did return with a report on Madara's whereabouts, we know the Akatsuki like to jump base a lot. Hopefully you guys can find out where those extra hideouts are if any so that we can increase our chances in this war. It should be quick with the four of you working on it."

Kakashi looked up suddenly upon hearing that last sentence. "Excuse me, Hokage-sama. Did you say the _four_ of us?"

"Yes, I did."

The five ninjas standing in the middle of the room looked at each other with confusion. Shikamaru was the first to speak up the question that was in all their heads. "By four, who do you mean, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade raised a finger and pointed to each person as their name was called out. "Kakashi, Shikamaru, Ino, and Chouji."

Sakura's eyes went wide. The other four turned to to look at her questioningly as if to ask why was she not included yet was summoned here anyway. Was she not part of the mission?

"No, Sakura, you are not part of that mission," said Tsunade, apparently reading everyone's faces and answering the unsaid inquiry. Which only of course lead to yet another question.

Tsunade didn't miss a beat and quickly reached into a lower drawer from her desk and pulled out a small cloth bag. she held the bag in both hands and held it close to her face while lightly feeling its contents through the thin material. She had a look of nostalgia that Sakura had rarely seen. If she remembered right, the last time Sakura saw that look on her master was during a conversation when the subject turned to her old days as a genin. Tsunade, instead of tossing the item like the bingo book, reached out with her arms and invited Sakura to take it, indicating the item was quite valuable.

Sakura took a few tentative steps towards the Hokage's desk and carefully took the small bag. She gave it a feel. The bag was made of silk that was as smooth as a newborn's skin. There was something round inside, like a thick disk of sorts. Sakura looked up at Tsunade who motioned her palm as if inviting Sakura to open up the bag check what's inside. Sakura undid the cotton yarn tying the bag close and took out the round thing she felt inside.

By then, Kakashi and the others had moved forward a bit to see what Sakura had pulled out. And was she had in her hand was...

"A compact?" Sakura raised a curious eyebrow.

"Well, it's a little more special than that," said Tsunade.

Sakura scrutinized the compact more closely. It was a typically sized compact which filled her palm just enough to be comfortably grasped. The outside shell was coated in a glossy cobalt blue smalt with the lips of the opening lined in silver. She popped it open and inside were two polished mirrors.. Sakura didn't think much of the object until she felt a bit of texture on her palm and realized she was holding the thing upside down. She turned it over in her palm to reveal the top cover that held an intricate design. The design showed a black and white Orca jumping over a blue sea. Sakura looked at it more closely and saw that the Orca was made out of finely carved onyx and pearl and the sea was made out of a bright blue agate.

Okay, so it was a very fine, _expensive_ compact. But other than that...

"Tsunade-sama, it's nice and all," said Sakura, opening the compact again and seeing her reflection on the highly polished mirror, "and I'm sure this thing cost quite a bit but other than that..."

"You'll understand one you undergo the mission I have for you, Sakura."

Sakura looked back up at her master who had now produced a map and was writing down stuff on a small scroll. "First, you go get some rest. I've been hearing about your extra voluntary services in the hospital lately. Stop pushing yourself so much, girl. Just because your job is to look after others doesn't mean you don't have to look out for yourself. You begin your mission first thing in the morning. Same to your team, Kakashi."

"Tsunade-sama, I don't quite understand something," said Sakura, apprehension clear in her voice. "What's my objective on this mission? And how is it important to the security of the village?"

"Quite simple, really." Tsunade paused while she got into a thoughtful pose. "We've seen what the Akatsuki can do and the level of power they had. Pain's invasion made that painfully clear. The one and only person in the Hidden Leaf who can match that power was unanimously voted by the five Kages to be isolated for his safety. And truth be told, despite positive reports from our security teams, I feel a little vulnerable...I want to change that."

Sakura's eyes slowly started to widen bit by bit as the essence of what her master was telling her began to sink in.

"Sakura..." continued Tsunade, "...I've been training you for the past three years now. From what I see in you...and from what Kakashi has seen in you in your recent missions as a team...I believe you are ready for something new. This mission will give that to you. I don't want to tell you everything about this mission now, because I'm sure you'll figure out the rest as you go along. Trust me."

Tsunade became quiet as with the rest of the room to let the words sink in. That nailed it. Sakura could think of nothing else to explain what Tsunade said. She was being sent on a training mission. But training in what exactly?

"Anyway," said Tsunade. You guys have your objectives, Kakashi. Sakura, here's yours." Tsunade handed the girl the scroll she was writing on a minute ago. As they all thought, they were instructions for the med-nin's mission. "By the way. Sakura, your mission will be considered class A and while its given time in official considered indefinite, your estimated completion time will be around two to three months."

Again, Sakura's eyes widened. This night just gets crazier for her by the second. Kakashi didn't look all that surprised. He was expecting this to be some sort of training mission, but he still gave hints of apprehension on the fact that the Hokage was sending his old student and current teammate on such a long mission...alone.

"Um, pardon me, Tsunade-sama," said Kakashi. "Regarding Sakura's mission. Are you gonna send her alone? Without a team?"

Tsunade turned to the masked jounin. "Of course not, Kakashi. I already gathered up a team to act as Sakura's escort for this mission."

"Oh? Who did you get?"

As if on que, The doors to the office burst open with a loud bang causing everyone else's attention to focus on that. The ANBU even got into a battle stance, prepared to unleash a kunai barrage on whoever would dare threaten the Hokage. But, after a split second of recognizing who was at the door, the ANBU quickly relaxed. The rest of the group however sweat-dropped nervously at the sight of the newcomers.

Standing at the doorway were Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon.

"Oy! Granny! What's up with you summoning us in such short notice?" complained Konohamaru. "Don't you know how busy we are?"

Sakura slowly turned towards Tsunade. "You're kidding me, right?"

Tsunade simply shrugged. "Meh. I thought they needed the experience."

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Author's Note: My first stab at a Naruto fic. I've decided long ago that if I ever do a Naruto fic, Sakura would have a big part in it (In this fic however, she's the main character). This is because I believe Sakura is one of the most underrated and under-appreciated characters, not just in Naruto, but in anime in general. Kishi himself admits he wants to give her better roles but just doesn't know how. Here's a my attempt to give Sakura a little bit of the lime light.

While I will stick with the main story as seen in the manga, this story will occasionally take from the anime universe of Naruto (for example, a chunk of this story will take place in the Land of Tea, introduced in the first major filler arc). I prefer the anime universe even though I will admit some of the filler arcs are rather painful to watch (I'm looking at you "Curry of Life" arc!), I like the fact that the anime expanded on the world of Naruto and generally gave the spotlight to characters that had little time in the manga.


	2. Off Again to the Unknown

The next morning.

The light but sharp ringing of her alarm clock woke her up. Sakura slowly sat up on her bed and brought her hands up to rub the sleep out of her eyes. She reached out and turned off her alarm clock, bringing back the silence in her room. A quick stretch of her arms and a long, loud yawn later, Sakura was ready to greet the new day. She turned to look at her alarm clock to check the time. Half past five in the morning. That gave her an hour and a half before she had to meet Konohamaru's team at the gate.

After looking at her clock, she caught a glimpse of the ornate compact she was given by Tsunade. It was on top of the night stand right next to her clock. She picked it up and gave it a another look, paying close attention to the exquisite design.

"I wonder where Tsunade-sama got this," she thought out loud. "Could it be the same place where she's sending me?"

She opened the compact to check out the mirrored interior. She saw her reflection and scoffed at her own appearance. Her hair was a mess, she had pillow marks on her cheek, and her eyes looked baggy. She was definitely not a morning person. Sakura closed the compact and set it back down on the nightstand. She then got out of bed, stretched out her limbs one last time, and went on to proceed to her morning rituals.

In the span of an hour, Sakura had bathed, groomed, changed to her usual "on duty" clothes, ate breakfast, and picked up the knapsack of supplies she had prepared the night before. In it were some essential survival tools and medical kits with most of her paraphernalia such as extra clothes, some literature, medicines, and equipment stored with the standard sealing technique in a number of scrolls.

Packing so much was not really all that crucial since the Hokage's office gives off an appropriate allowance of money for long-duration missions. But Sakura preferred her own stuff since she could trust them more. After a quick farewell to her mother, Sakura was out the door and on her way to the main gate.

After that, only the heavens know where...

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Meanwhile, at the Hokage's office.

The doors opened and the famous Copy-nin walked into the converted archives room. As he expected, Tsunade was there along with Shizune, slaving away at the paperwork. Neither of the women seemed surprised to see him and in fact looked like they were expecting him. Ebisu, however, was a surprise this morning.

"Ebisu, what brings you here?" asked Kakashi.

The other jounin adjusted his round shades on his face then turned to Kakashi. "Same reason your here, I expect."

"Been meaning to ask you. Why'd you agree to let your genin team along in this mission? I would think you'd prefer to always have them near you."

"They need some practical experience. I can drill them with all my knowledge of combat strategies and tactics and how to move independently on missions but in the end, real life experience will be a better teacher for such things. There's only so much theoretical lectures can do for a ninja, Kakashi. I believe they are ready for a taste of the real world."

Tsunade coughed to get the two jounins' attention and looked towards Kakashi. "I see you have no qualms about letting Asuma's team wait for you, huh?" she asked with a hint of scolding.

"Sorry about this, Hokage-sama," said Kakashi, "but I just want to know a little more about this mission your giving to Sakura. It's pretty obvious your sending her to learn something for herself and it's obviously something no one here in Konoha can teach her. Exactly where are you sending her?...To _whom_ are you sending her?"

Tsunade grinned wryly at Kakashi, recognizing his "sensei instincts" kicking in over Sakura.

"Actually, Tsunade-sama," spoke up Shizune. "I'm also a bit curious about Sakura-chan's mission. You haven't said much of anything to me about it either."

"You're both really curious, huh?" asked Tsunade.

"Not to try and go over your authority Hokage-sama, but she is still my student after all," said Kakashi.

"And Sakura is like a little sister to me," said Shizune. "I'll probably get really worried about her if I don't know what she's getting into. What was that compact about anyway?"

"And if you don't mind, Hokage-sama," said Ebisu, joining the conversation. "Because of the fact that it's my team accompanying Kakashi's student, I also want a few more details on where your sending them. Though you did assure me before that there was nothing there they couldn't handle..."

Tsunade gave a look to all three jounin in the room and saw the look of determination in their faces. They wanted to know stuff badly. The Fifth Hokage let out an exasperated sigh and leaned back into her chair. "I guess that's fair. I can't really get into details at the moment but let me tell you this. The place I'm sending them, initially at least, is a medium-sized fishing village called Wakame village. It's at the south-western coast of the Land of Tea."

Kakashi raised the eyebrow over his visible eye, showing curiosity at what would be of interest in a village that has _Seaweed_ for a name.

"Initially, you say, Hokage-sama?" said Ebisu. "Are they going somewhere afterwards?"

"Yes, but I can't really tell you exactly where, they'll be next after that."

"Because the place is classified information?"

"No. Because the place is never in the same location twice."

That last statement took a few moments to sink in with Kakashi, Ebisu, and Shizune looking at each other as if trying to figure out what the Hokage meant between themselves. But it was Kakashi who had a flash of realization when he put the pieces together in his head. His one visible eye showed incredible disbelief.

"That compact you gave Sakura..." said Kakashi. "And you're sending them to the southern ocean...could it be?"

Tsunade gave the Copy-nin a look. "Kakashi, I didn't know you heard about that place."

"I've heard just fanciful tales of it...I didn't think it was real."

"Oh, it's real. Trust me I've been there. Back when I was a rookie jounin and when my team was still whole. That place...is kinda special to me. And it's also perfect for what I need from Sakura."

"I see...Well, now that I know this, I guess I can relax a little more now for Sakura. She is quite capable...I don't know about Konohamaru's team though."

"Don't underestimate my students," defended Ebisu. "Konohamaru is almost as hardheaded as Naruto. Moegi and Udon have also shown great tenacity and skill. Kakashi, did you know that Konohamaru had successfully learned the Rasengan from Naruto?"

That got Ebisu a look of surprise from everyone else in the room. "Seriously?" asked Shizune in disbelief . "Konohamaru can use the Third's technique?"

Ebisu nodded to her. "It's not much compared to what Naruto can do...Konohamaru still has a ways to go in terms of chakra control and buildup, but it was powerful enough to drive away one of the Pains and save my life." He turned back to Kakashi with a smirk. "Like I said. Don't underestimate what my students are capable of."

"So that's what Naruto meant when he said he was teaching Konohamru a new jutsu...And here I thought he was just teaching him something perverted again."

"Anyway, you may have some idea about where they're headed to but it seems me and Shizune are still generally in the dark here. Care to fill us in?"

Tsunade cleared her throat again to grab everyone's attention. The three jounin looked towards the Hokage who had veins popping in her temples. Apparently she didn't like not being in control of the discussion. Especially a discussion that she shouldn't really be having right now. Can't these people just learn to trust her judgement.

"Ebisu, Shizune, let me just give you some directions for this library. We do have some scant reference to this place we're talking about. Better for you guys to read about it on your own. Kakashi, your mission with Team 10 has already officially started and I suggest you get to it. You can all chat about this later."

Kakashi sighed, knowing the Hokage had just effectively ended their discussion. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

And with that, Kakashi gave a nod of farewell to Ebisu and Shizune then proceeded to out of the office. Ebisu and Shizune then moved towards Tsunade, probably to ask about those library directions she was talking about.

Kakashi had some idea about what she was talking about. He had probably read a few of those references himself, which was where he knew about that place. Granted, there wasn't much in Konoha's library about it. He had learned about it when he was just a chunin himself, when the Third Hokage was his team leader. The Third had mentioned it in passing but it was clear the Minato himself didn't take it seriously when he talked about that place. Until today, Kakashi had always considered it a myth. A fairy tale. But to hear from the Fifth Hokage herself...

"To think that is where Sakura is headed," he mumbled to himself. "The Village that is never in the same place twice...This is gonna be quite an experience for her..."

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At the main gate.

Team Ebisu, minus the jounin leader, was already present with all their equipment packed up and ready. Same goes for Team 10 who were patiently waiting for their extra member before embarking on their own mission.

Actually, "paitiently" was not the right word.

"Troublesome, troublesome, troublesome..." mumbled Shikamaru under his breath. Something Ino picked up.

"You know, Shikamaru, this is Kakashi we're talking about here," said Ino. "If the stories we heard from Naruto and Sakura are any indication, He probably won't be here for another hour or so."

The normally very reserved Shikamaru twitched at the prospect that they would have to wait for the special jounin for that long. Shikamaru really wanted to get this mission over with.

"Will you relax already," said Ino. "Kurenai-sensei will be just fine while we're gone."

Shikamaru gave her a slightly shocked look. Ino returned it with a bored look of her own. "Oh, c'mon. I don't need to use my mind-reading jutsu to figure out what you're thinking about."

Shikamaru blinked once then quickly turned away and scoffed. Ino gave out a slight giggle.

"Why'd we get stuck with Kakashi anyway?"

"Well, Kakashi-sensei's tracking abilities are top-notch," said Chouji. "He can probably rival the Hyuuga, Inuzuka, and Aburame clans."

"Yeah but still-"

"Um, excuse me," spoke up Konohamaru.

Team 10 turned to towards the genin. Konohamaru swallowed nervously which seemed unusual to his teammates. They normally knew Konohamaru to be a lot more outspoken, much like his idol, Naruto. But now the boy seem to be looking for the most polite way to say something.

"You guys are the students of Uncle Asuma, right?" he said.

There was a moment of silence that followed where Team 10 showed a mixture of surprise and mournful expression. "Yeah, that's right," answered Shikamaru.

"And you were also the guys who finished of the Akatsuki members who killed him, right?"

Another short mournful silence. Shikamaru knew that Konohamaru and his uncle, Asuma were fairly close. Before he met Naruto, it was only Asuma and the Third Hokage who Konohamaru can act comfortably around. Asuma treated Konohamaru like he treated all his students. Unlike everybody else in Konoha at the time. They had heard from Naruto how Konohamaru didn't like being treated like some crown prince of Konoha. Naruto was the first outside his family to treat the young genin as a peer. Konohamaru was forever grateful for that.

Konohamaru didn't wait for an answer. He gave Shikamaru a warm smile and offered his hand to shake. "Thank you," he said. "I'm sure Uncle would've appreciated how much you cared about him."

Shikamaru returned the boy's sentiment with his own approving smirk and shook his hand. "And I'm sure Asuma-sensei would be proud of you on how far you've progressed as a ninja...Konohamaru-kun."

The rest of ninja there smiled at the exchange. Undoubtedly, they all caught Shikamaru's choice of addressing Konohamaru in that manner. And by the expression on Konohamaru's face, it didn't go unappreciated. "I promise I'll keep getting stronger. And by the time I become the Seventh Hokage, I'll be powerful enough to crush people like Akatsuki easily."

"Seventh? What happened to Sixth?"

"That's for Naruto-niichan of course."

Shikamaru grinned wider. Nowhere in his vast intelligence could he find a reason to disagree with what the young ninja said.

"Nice to see you guys getting along so well," said Sakura, entering the picture by jumping down from a nearby rooftop, pack already slung behind her. She gave everyone there a proper greeting and they all responded in kind. Team Ebisu looked glad that their team leader for this mission had arrived. Finally they can get things going.

"Oy, oy, Sakura," said Ino. "You're the last person I'd expect to be late. You're not taking after your sensei, now are you?"

"Oh, I'd mutilate myself before I let that happen. No, the reason I was a little late was that half-way to the gate, I thought of something and headed back home as quick as I can."

"What's that then?"

Sakura reached into her back pouch and pulled out two glass bottles filled a dark green liquid and showed it to everyone who looked on curiously. Sakura explained. "This stuff is a special healing drug that acts as an all-purpose cure and accelerates chakra healing where applied such as the _Mystical __Palm __Jutsu_. It's made from a type of algae that I've never heard of before. I received some as a gift from the monks of Fire Temple during our mission there."

Ino took a closer look at the bottles. It seemed that each of them had a label, indicating their origin. The label showed a symbol composed of a short column of three horizontal wavy lines.

"Never saw that brand before," said Ino.

"Me neither. But I've seen this stuff work firsthand so it's okay."

The conversation was interrupted when Konohamura, in classic Naruto fashion, complained out loud. "Argh! Enough with all this talk about boring medical stuff! Let's just get on with this mission already!"

This quickly resulted in a smack on the head courtesy of Moegi. "Don't interrupt Sakura-sempai so rudely like that! Besides, this mission is supposed to take at least a couple of months. A few minutes won't kill you!"

Udon wiped the snot of his perpetually runny nose and scoffed at Konohamaru. "Typical. You should learn better manners, Konohamaru. How do you expect to be a great ninja like your grandfather if you act like that."

Observing this, Sakura couldn't help but smile. They reminded her so much of...

Sakura shook her head clear of thoughts and forced herself to think about the now. "Alright, enough you guys. You're right Konohamaru, this mission is long enough as it is, better not extend it anymore than we have to. Let's go then."

Sakura then made her way Team 10 and out the gates with Team Ebisu (minus Ebisu) picking up their stuff and made to follow. But before they could get too far, Shikamaru called out to Sakura again. "Sakura, you know him best here, how long do we have to wait for that troublesome sensei of yours?"

"How long have you been waiting so far?"

"Almost an hour."

Sakura grinned. "You might as well, go on a shopping trip for more supplies and have lunch at a restaurant. Come back here a little after twelve noon. Kakashi-sensei should arrive around that time."

Sakura thought it was mildly entertaining watching Shikamaru's jaw drop to the ground as he digested this information.

Sakura gave Team 10 one last wave of farewell and then, with Team Ebisu in tow, started down the path to the Tea Country where their first destination lies. Like her sensei before her, she also wondered what would be so interesting in a town named after seaweed that would prompt a two-month stay.

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Meanwhile, at Wakame village.

She darted across the alleys with cat-like speed and reflexes, jumping over and scaling walls in seconds, running down long straights with break-neck speeds an average human can't possibly achieve. However she did so with a level of finese and dexterity that indicated years of training and where ever she passed, though she was moving ridiculously quick, she didn't leave a single trace of her presence.

Ninjas don't leave traces.

Despite her skill, however, the young ninja was in trouble. Her pursuers were closing in on her. And while, individually, they couldn't match her, as a group, they could overwhelm her. She could track them easily enough, they were noisy and less concerned with stealth as she was. But they knew the town better. They practically ruled it after all. They may have been slower but they knew ways to surround her before she knew it. Hiding wasn't helping her here.

If she stayed within the borders of the town, it was only a matter time before they corner her. Hiding wasn't helping her here. With the way things are going it would be better for her out in the open where she could just outrun them. She knew that. A change of tactics was in order.

Out of the village and into the surrounding forest, she thought. She could loose them there. At the onset of that thought, she changed her direction. In less than a minute, she was out of the shadows of the town buildings and out in the open on the grassy forest grounds where she was in the sunlight, no longer hidden.

She was young, no older than fifteen, very light skin and of average height and build. She had a youthful, well-rounded face. Her eyes were sharp and were of a deep amber color. He waist-length light blue hair was tied into a long ponytail.

Her clothing consisted of a snug-fitting bodysuit made of a very thick material that showed off her athletic figure, which covered her from the neck to just above her knees and the sleeves covered all the way to the wrists. The bodysuit was of a navy blue color with a thick silver stripe running down each side and down her arms. Over this suit she wore an open gray jacket that covered her back down to her hip. On each hand she wore black fingerless gloves.

Around her waist was a belt with a standard hip pouch hanging behind her. Wrapped around her right thigh was a normal shuriken holster. On her feet were classic navy blue ninja sandals. All that was left to complete the ensemble was her hitai-ate. Her _forehead __protector_.

And that was worn around her neck, like a choker with the metal plate facing her front. Engraved on the metal plate was a symbol consisting of a short column of three horizontal wavy lines.

The blue-haired kunoichi dashed right into a large grass field. Yes, lots of open space, she thought. She'll definitely outrun them now. She continued to run a blistering pace towards the short mountain range about half-a-mile away. If she could make it there, she could simply go around the mountain to the hidden dock and-

_*__BOOOM__!*_

Without warning, the earth twenty feet in front of her exploded. The kunoichi slid to a halt and started back-flipping like crazy as she did her best to avoid the debris that rained down on her. A second later she heard someone say in a growling voice "_Earth __Release__: __Earth __Crusher __Jutsu__!_" A literal wall of earth came popping out of the ground a second later and came rushing at the girl.

Thinking fast, the kunoichi did some quick hand seals while jumping back and exclaimed, "_Water__Release__: __Water __Javelin __Palm J__utsu__!_"

She thrust her open hand forward. In the flash of a second, a large amount of molded chakra in her hand transformed into water and launched out in the form of an elongated rod spinning at high speed like a powered drill flying like a cannon shot towards the advancing rock wall. When the _Water__Javelin_ hit, the impact broke apart the rock wall in an explosion of mud.

When the kunoichi landed back at her feet, she got into a ready fighting stance and faced her opponent. And there he was standing where the ground exploded.

Her opponent was a large man, nearly eight feet tall with a physique like a rhino. He wore only thick over-sized trousers and the remnants of a large jacket tied around his waist. His feet were bare. He was shirtless, showing off the rippling muscles of his upper body. Hanging from a strap on his back was a hammer nearly as tall as he was with a head the size of a wine barrel. On his shaved head was a hitai-ate with a similar symbol to the kunoichi's except with a large diagonal gash running across it.

"Nice to see you again, Kurage," said the large man with an evil-looking grin.

The young kunoichi, named Kurage, didn't return the sentiment. Rather, she reached into her hip pouch and produced a kunai in a flash. She held the kunai at the ready and stared down at the large man, who didn't seem the least bit intimidated.

"Now don't be like that," said the man. "I know we sorta got off on the wrong foot back there but don't worry. I won't hold it against you that you tried to kill me...although my comrades over there might not share the same sentiment."

As he finished that sentence, the kunoichi heard hurried footsteps behind her. She peeked over her shoulder and saw the worrying sight of a dozen thugs, armed with all manner of melee weapons from clubs to swords. The kunoichi cursed under her breath.

This was not her day.

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Author's note: Here's chapter 2. Hope you like things so far. Decided to put a little action in here since the first chapter was pretty slow-paced. I've plenty of action in upcoming chapters. If you ask the readers of my old Teen Titan fics, I love to write action.

Spent quite a bit of time deciding on the name "Kurage." Originally I was planning to name her with the Japanese word for "dolphin"...only to find out there was already a Naruto character with that name (Iruka...of all people). Kurage is the Japanese word for "jellyfish." Why she was given that name will be revealed in later chapters.


	3. Welcome to Wakame Village

A day later, in the forest.

The sun was high in the clear blue sky and Sakura's group was casually walking down the road towards their destination of the Land of Tea's southern coast. Walking, as opposed to leaping across trees. Since the mission was designated non-urgent, with an indefinite time schedule and all, there was no need to hurry. In fact it was Ninja travel 101 to always travel casually when the mission permits it.

Tree leaping is an intensive task that took a toll on both a ninja's physical endurance and chakra reserves. With no signs of urgent need or any imminent danger, it was best to conserve one's energy for when one really needed it.

Now if only Sakura could get Konohamaru to understand this.

"Argh! Are we there yet? This is boring!" exclaimed Konohamaru, loudly enough to scare a nearby flock of birds which promptly launched into the air.

Sakura, rubbed the bridge of her nose. Honestly, it's like Naruto never left.

Moegi seemed to share the Chunnin's sentiment. "Kono-kun! Will you just shut it! You're not making this trip any easier."

"We already established that it was about a two-day walk to Wakame village using this direct road," said Udon. "We'll probably get there by dinner time."

"Can't we just rush there, already?"

"And do what exactly?" asked Moegi. "Chances are, you'll just be as bored there as you are now, Kono-kun. Besides, remember we're here as an escort detail for Sakura-sempai. If she wants to walk, then we also walk!"

"Why'd Ebisu-sensei have to agree to this? If I can't be back home helping rebuild stuff, then I'd rather be training, not strolling across the country side like this. What's there to do in this country anyway? I haven't seen any ninjas here at all."

"Well, if they were ninjas," said Sakura, "then they wouldn't be seen at all, right Konohamaru-kun?"

Konohamaru was about to say something when he took a second to think about what she said and realized that she was correct. If there were ninjas around which a genin like him could easily spot, they wouldn't be deserving of the title now wouldn't they.

"Of course, that doesn't mean there aren't any ninja's here," continued Sakura. "After all, I've met a few when I came here a few years back."

"You've been to this country before?"

"Yeah. Back when I was a genin and my team was still whole, we had a mission here to act as an escort detail to for some race participant who turned out to be the younger brother of Ibiki-san. We ran to a bit of trouble but as usual we somehow got out of serious bodily injury and we managed to somehow safeguard the stability between clans. So, you see Konohamaru-kun, this land isn't so boring."

"Is that supposed to explain why we're walking?"

Sakura let out an exasperated sigh. "I've already told you. There are known hostile forces here so we have to conserve our energy should we find ourselves in a fight. That's why we're walking."

Sakura looked back at the young genin behind her. She could see that Konohamaru was actually thinking about what she said and gradually came to agree with it. Of course, his obvious dislike for the lack of activity was still there.

"Tell you what. First thing we'll do when we get there will be to find a good place to eat. I'f you can't have action I'm sure you'll be fine with filling that stomach of yours."

Konohamaru visually perked up a bit. "Fine. Let's go out for some ramen then!"

"It's always ramen with you!" said Moegi. "Let's eat something else!"

"If it ain't ramen, I ain't interested."

"Dammit, Kono-kun! Hey, Udon, say something why don't you? Aren't you getting tired of ramen?"

"Food is food," said Udon. "It's all the same once it gets into you stomach."

"Argh! You guys have no fine tastes!"

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Meanwhile, somewhere dark.

She was in a cave, that much Kurage was certain about. the place smelled like damp rocks. Her head was throbbing with pain as she tried to get up from the rocky floor. Once she got back up on her feet, it took about a minute for her full senses to return. Once they did, she wished she was unconscious again. Her situation was something not to be celebrated about.

She could see she was in a circular pit about four meters in diameter and its smooth vertical walls rose twelve feet above her. Over her head was a barrier of crisscrossing metal beams making it impossible to simply jump or climb out. A single oil lamp hanging from the center of the metal grate was her only source of light.

"Looks like your finally awake," said a familiar voice.

Kurage was instantly in a fighting stance as she heard that voice, easily recognizing it as that of the ninja that defeated her in that field with his gang. Her eyes darted across the grate over her trying to see where the voice was coming from. Problem was, she couldn't. The voice was over the grate and thereby the oil lamp was between her and the speaker. The glare from the lamp's bright yellow flame, and the metal cover above the lamp, made it near impossible to make out anything past the grate.

The voice was now laughing. "Still want to fight? You've got spirit, I'll give you that. But from where your standing, I doubt there's much you can do."

She hated to admit it, but he was right. She had no reach on her adversary and her chakra reserves were all but depleted. And of course, as expected when taking prisoners, her hip pouch and shuriken holster were confiscated. She was completely defenseless.

With a scoff of contempt, she forced herself to relax her stance. No point in getting tense now. "What do you want, Yuuto?"

The voice turned from amused to slightly insulted. "That's Yuuto-_sempai_ to you, Kurage. Have some respect for your seniors."

"Traitors earn no respect, Yuuto."

"Let's move on, shall we?" said a new voice this time.

Kurage was getting anxious. She was outnumbered now. The new voice was also above the grate, right at the edge of the pit. Still, she could not show weakness.

"Who's there? Show yourself!"

"Such rude manners, child," said the unknown voice. "It's only proper to introduce yourself first before asking for one's name."

"Are you another one of Yuuto's lackeys?"

"Lackey? Oh, please don't compare me to an ordinary street thug. I'm a _businessman_ with standards, you know."

The voice was male, she could tell that much. But it was a very high tone, almost like an old woman's. "You know who I am! Tell me who you are! Why did you chase and capture me? Why are you keeping me here?"

"Not very smart, aren'tcha? Think about it. What could you, and ordinary run-o-the-mill chunin, possibly be worth to a couple of enterprising businessmen like us? What would you _know_ that we might find valuable?"

Kurage didn't want to be bothered into playing these stupid mind games with a traitor and a shady stranger. But what choice did she have? She was trapped and obviously being kept alive for some reason. Why would they need her? What could she possibly know that-

Then it hit her. That was the answer. When she realized it, she mentally slapped herself for not realizing it sooner. That was the only reason for them to be keeping her there. They needed to know about...oh God,

"It seems she's getting the full picture now," said the unknown man.

Kurage ignored him and focused on the presence she was familiar with. "Yuuto, you bastard! You actually are planning on following up that stupid threat of yours?"

"It was no threat!" said Yuuto. "I don't make threats. I make _promises_! Now tell us, where will the village be when it appears."

"No way! I'm not telling you crap! If you're serious about what your saying then I cannot allow you to know the location of the village! You might as well kill me now!"

"That won't do us any good. Only an active ninja of the village would know it's schedule of appearances."

"Go to hell!"

The unknown businessman sounded annoyed. "There's really no other way, is there. I didn't want to have to resort to this but..."

A short silence followed. Kurage was nervous. She didn't know what was happening now. And even if she did, there was little she could do about it anyway. But she simply couldn't let it end like this. She had to do something. She had to-

_*__THWAPP__!*_

She felt a prick at the back of her neck, just above the shoulder. She yelped at the sudden sharp pain, which she quickly ignored and her hand shot to her grab the thing that was stuck to her back in a trained reflex. She held the offending object to the light and her eyes went wide. It was a poison dart and its contents were already empty.

"Don't worry my dear," said the businessman. "It's not the kind of poison that kills you. Like my cohort here mentioned, you're no good to us dead. However, even though it won't kill you...it's gonna make you _wish_ you were dead!"

Kurage shook with fear. This poison...It was...She didn't want to say it.

"The Devil Urchin's venom," said Yuuto. "A specialty of our village's interrogation team. Extracted from the Devil Urchin, a specially bred species only our village has, the venom is actually a near-harmless bacteria which can feed of the body's blood plasma. The bacteria, as it feeds and metabolizes, releases an enzyme which, interestingly enough, reacts with the human body's pain receptors."

Kurage could feel it. A light burning sensation was starting to occur near her upper back region. Normally, such a light sensation could be ignored. but she was feeling for this one. She knew it wouldn't stay light for long.

Yuuto continued, with a little more malice in his voice. "As the bacteria spread, the more of them there is to feed on the plasma and release more enzyme. Overtime the pain simply increases and increases. The bacteria themselves don't do any harm, but the pain they cause can lead to overwhelming physical and mental stress...And, as you know Kurage...There's only one known medicine that could remove the bacteria."

"Of course...heh, heh," the other man again, "As I said I'm a businessman, so I'm more than willing to negotiate. The trade is simple enough. The medicine in exchange for the information we want."

Damn them! Kurage couldn't believe her luck. The burning sensation was already escalating. was there anything she could do? She couldn't let these two have the info. No way in hell!

"Of course, it wouldn't be sporting of us to have you make such a snap decision," said the businessman. "So we'll give you _plenty_ of time to think it over."

Kurage's eyes went wide. They wouldn't!

"Three days should be enough," said Yuuto. "We have other things to take care of anyway. The information can wait. I'm sure by then you'll be much more...cooperative, Kurage."

Seconds later, Kurage could hear the two men walk away, chuckling lightly to themselves. And just like that she was alone. Hopeless, and alone. She dropped to her knees in shock of the whole situation. her mind now blank. no more thoughts or ideas were coming to her. The only thing present was the burning sensation that she could feel was slowly spreading and slowly intensifying.

Now what?

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Later that day.

The sun was just ready to set. The sky had turned from a vibrant blue to a dimming orange as the four leaf ninja, made their way over a hill overlooking their destination.

Wakame village. From when Sakura's group stood, they could see, that the town was fairly large, almost the size of their own hidden village. The town was situated in a large patch of flat land on the coast where the village was bordered by the ocean to the west and some mountainous forests to the east and south. The town structures consisted mainly of traditional stone and wooden buildings like what anyone would expect from a typical rural town. An interesting note about the town was that a good chunk of it's real estate was out in the water, built on tip of stone and wooden piers. Several wooden trade ships could be seen in and around the docks.

"Quaint looking place, huh?" commented Moegi.

"Looks pretty boring to me," said Konohamaru.

"You know, with all the excitement we've had over the last couple of weeks, most people would want a more peaceful scenery like this."

"I don't like boring. There's never anything interesting to do."

"It's probably a good thing this place is so boring." said Sakura solemnly. "With all this world war stuff happening, it's nice to see places in this world that are still unaffected...I hope it stays that way. I'm tired of watching my friends get hurt or put themselves through so much risks."

A silence followed. None of the younger nins had anything to say to that. After a moment, Sakura let out a breath and said, "Let's go. You guys must be hungry by now."

And the group of four simply moved on.

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Wakame Village.

Despite being supposed to be a rural town, the place was pretty busy. The moment they entered the town borders, Sakura's team encountered nothing but busy people who were more often than not too busy to give them a second look. Everyone they saw moved with a purpose. Sakura thought that this was nothing like a rural town and more like a full-blown industrialized city, only without the obvious industry.

It was clear from the get-go that the town's main source of business was seafaring trade. The majority of the product she saw being advertised in shops, stalls, and posters, as well as the stuff being carried by the people who were on some kind of errand were fish, crustaceans, and a variety aquatic vegetation. Actually, she saw a lot of the latter, not just in it's raw form but in more refined packages like creams, lotions, snack items, as tea (she didn't know whether she wanted to try that or not), among other things

Little wonder where the town got it's name.

Since they couldn't spot any large factories or plants as one would normally associate with a modern city, Sakura guess that all these products were made locally and as a specialty. That would mean the products of this town would be a cut above the normally mass-produced products sold for cheap to the public. And these products would be exported by the local or even foreign shipping companies at the busy docks. And just like that you have an economy driven mostly by fishing and aquatic farming.

The four leaf nin, with Sakura bringing the rear and the three genin up front looking around, seemed fascinated by all hustle and bustle.

"Hmmm, looks like this place is not as boring as I thought," said Konohamaru.

"Yup. Everyone sure seems to be in a rush," commented Udon. "I wonder if it's like this all day here."

"And here I thought old fishing villages are supposed to be laid back," said Moegi.

"From the looks of things, the whole town is essentially one giant marketplace," said Sakura. "I'm betting this place is actually pretty rich despite appearances, onsidering all this high-quality stuff the people can import. It must be-"

Sakura cut herself abruptly which made the three genin a bit curious. They looked back at Sakura who had a straight face but sharp eyes, looking to the sides.

"Something wrong, Sakura-sempai?"

Sakura looked down at the rest of her team. So, they didn't notice huh? She quickly put on her usual cheerful expression. "Nah, it's nothing. C'mon, I think I see a place to eat."

Sakura picked out the first place she saw. A medium sized family restaurant named The Floating Lily. The place looked plain enough, and none of the four ninja could detect any danger from inside the restaurant. Good, Sakura thought. one less thing to worry about. They were given a polite greeting by a young waitress who lead them to an empty table where they all took a seat.

"Are you ready to order?" asked the waiterss.

"Miso Ramen for me, please," said Konohamaru.

"I'll have the same," said Udon.

"Crab noodles for me," said Moegi. "What about you, Sakura-sempai?"

Sakura didn't answer immediately. She was staring out the window. Moegi raised an curious eyebrow and was about to call out again when Sakura turned.

"Oh, sorry about spacing out like that," said the chunin. "A plate of sashimi for me with some herbal tea, please."

"Coming right up," said the waitress. "Your orders should be ready in a few minutes."

A few seconds after the waitress left, Sakura suddenly got up from her seat to the questioning looks of the three genin. Sakura gave them a reassuring look. "Hey, listen, since we have a some time to kill before our food gets here, I think I'll check out some of the nearby stores. I saw a few blouses I liked as we got here."

Konohamaru scoffed. "I knew it. What is it with women and shopping."

"Hey, it's just my thing Konohamaru-kun. Don't worry, I won't spend much. Wouldn't want to waste too much of our allowance after all."

Sakura quickly walked towards the doorway before any of them could say another word. Konohamaru seemed satisfied with Sakura's given excuse but Udon and Moegi both had suspicious looks, the former more curious while the latter looked more worried.

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Back outside.

Sakura walked casually yet with a sense of purpose down the street, looking through the various displayed items on the store fronts and stalls as if she really was browsing for something to buy. Occasionally she would even pick up an item from the stall, examine it closely, and even ask a few question towards the sales clerk. All the while she was doing this, she was being watched.

The ninja, after all it couldn't be any other kind of person but a ninja, that was tailing her was keeping out of sight by laying low on the rooftops as he watched her from above. He watched as she went on with her shopping as she continued to stroll further and further away from the restaurant where she left the rest of her team. As Sakura continued heading down the street, the other ninja followed as stealthily as he could...having no idea he has already been found out.

Sakura timed her move carefully. The tailing ninja was over and behind her left side. Ahead of her was a large man carrying a large billboard, heading in the opposite direction to he left side. There was he perfect opportunity. The moment the man with the billboard was in between her and the other ninja...

As far as the tailing ninja was concerned, the same girl that momentarily disappeared and the girl who quickly reappeared we're the same. The girl kept walking on her merry way down the street, still browsing different stores and stalls. And the other ninja followed

Suddenly, in an unexpected move, Sakura abruptly turned into an empty alley and disappeared out of sight. The tailing ninja was surprised and, like the rookie he was, acted rashly and quickly jumped across the roofs towards the alley where the girl had gone to. He spotted the girl simply standing there in the middle of the alley. For a long while, he just watched her standing there doing nothing, simply staring off into space. In another callous moment of misjudgment, the tailing ninja decided to confront the girl.

He dropped down from the roof and landed as silently as he could. He snuck up on Sakura who didn't notice him one bit. Deciding that this was his best chance, the other ninja suddenly rushed at the older girl and tackled her...only for Sakura to disappear in a puff of smoke this instant he touched her and he ended up face first on the ground.

"Ouch!" My face!" he exclaimed, rubbing a growing mark on his forehead. His voice was childish. Sakura concluded he had to be no more than Konohamaru's age. Heck, this ninja was probably younger.

Speaking of whom.

"So you are a rookie," said Sakura's voice suddenly behind the young boy. "To think that you would fall for a basic _Clone__Jutsu_ like that. Also, you really need to work on your stealth."

The boy spun around and faced Sakura with wide eyes of surprise. it was then that Sakura got her first good look at him.

His was young alright. Probably her age when she graduated from the academy. He had sharp features on his face but he had soft round, amber eyes. His spiky dark blue hair was cut short and held up by his hitai-ate tied around forehead, the metal plate featuring a symbol consisting of a short column of three horizontal wavy lines

He was just shy of five feet tall, the typical height for a young, newly promoted genin. His clothing consisted mainly of a loose-fitting, one piece, navy-blue jumpsuit that covered him down to his shins and wrists. The jumpsuit had a decorative thick silver strip running down the center from his neck to the inside of the legs. On his feet were classic blue sandals and around his waist was a thick belt that carried his hip pouch. A shuriken pouch was wrapped around his right thigh.

Sakura gave his hitai-ate a second look. that symbol was something she recognized. "Hey wait. who are you exact-"

"_Water __Release__: __Water B__omb __Jutsu__!" _exclaimed the boy all of a sudden, accompanied by a few hand seals.

Stretching out both his arms, his chakra formed into a small sphere of water in front of his open palms which launched straight at his perceived enemy. Sakura was a little surprised this kid would attack her outright like that, but she was more than ready for such things. She jumped straight up into the air and up onto the roof of the building to her left. Meanwhile, the ball of water missed her completely and impacted the ground a little ways behind where she was standing, and exploded in a great big splash that left over half the alley soaked.

After the failed attack, the boy looked up and saw Sakura as she leaped up. And he naturally gave chase.

"Hey! get back here!" ordered the young ninja.

Sakura dashed to the next roof then looked back and saw the boy going after her. Yup, she though, just keep following me like that. A quick survey of the surrounding land she spotted what she was looking for: A small forested area on top of a small cliff at the east side of the town.

She changed her direction as they both continued the chase over the rooftops of the town. Within seconds, she was at the cliff and running up its face with chakra on the soles of her feet. After she reached the top, she turned around to check on the boy. Unlike her, he was _climbing_ the cliff instead of running up it. So, he hasn't reached that part of his training yet, thought Sakura as she waited on the small grassy area on top of the cliff.

They boy, panting heavily from the speedy climb, followed soon after. he faced Sakura who was simply waiting there. "So, you're trying to run away, huh? You coward!"

"No. Just avoiding collateral," Sakura said matter-of-factly. "Now, tell me why you've been sneaking up on me and my team. What do you want from us?"

"Shut up! You're in cahoots with _him_ aren't you?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "...With who?"

"Guess I'll just beat the answers out of you instead!" The boy then proceeded to do a familiar set of hand seals. "_Water __Release__: __Water__bo__-_"

"_Legendary __Heel __Drop__!" _exclaimed Sakura as she quickly raised and drop a chakra strengthened heel to the ground before the boy could finish his own jutsu. the impact of Sakura's heel caused a small, localized quake which ripped the ground around them and knocked the boy off his feet and onto his butt.

A sweat drop ran down the boy's temple as he was recovering from his fall. "Whoa! That strength is insane!"

Sakura stood tall and looked completely unafraid. She cracked her gloved knuckles as a show of intimidation. Her stare would indicate to the boy that she could probably pummel him into so much dirt at a moments notice if she had to. "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice..." said Sakura. "Trying to go after me again with the same jutsu as before, and being so obvious about it. Maybe you need to go back to the academy."

A few more sweat drops ran down the boy's temple. But he shook it of and put on the bravest face he could. No ninja ever wanted to go down looking like a wimp. He jumped up onto his feet and quickly reached into the hip pouch to to retrieve a single kunai and held it at the ready. Sakura tensed up as well and got into a fighting stance.

"Listen kid," said Sakura in an authoritative tone. "I don't know what your deal is and I'm not even sure if you're my enemy. But I will defend myself if I have to."

"The only thing you'll be doing is kissing the ground!" exclaimed the boy, just before he threw the kunai straight at her head.

Sakura watched the kunai approach, knowing it would all to easy to evade. She was already moving her head to the side and out of the kunai's trajectory when suddenly something caught her eye at thee edge of her field of view. Suddenly the kunai disappeared out of thin air. The boy was surprised and couldn't figure out how his thrown weapon just vanished like that. He didn't see the girl move and now she was simply looking at the ground to his left. A second later, he followed the girl's line of sight and he spotted where his kunai disappeared to.

Embedded into the ground was a short metal rod. The boy's kunai was caught in rod by the ring on its end, spinning like a small windmill.

"That's enough, Satoshi-kun!" a new voice called out.

Sakura turned to the source of the new voice, not at all surprised at his presence. Whoever this guy is, he made no effort in concealing his presence and made it all too easy for him to be detected, even for a non-surveillance type ninja like her. The boy however was caught off-guard. Both Sakura and boy turned to where the voice came from and out of the trees jumped out yet another ninja.

He was a tall figure, and looked to be a few years older than Sakura. He had medium-length, wild purple hair and a youthfull but still sharp-looking face and he would've been a pretty handsome had it not been for the dark blotch of skin that made it look like that most of his right cheek was burned by something.

In terms of clothing, he wore a similar loose-fitting, silver and blue jumpsuit as the boy with a few notable additions. Particularly, the navy-blue vest her wore over his torso which indicated his ninja rank: Jounin. The vest was not exactly the same, but it wasn't too dissimilar from the design of Konoha's vests. Sakura knew, just about all hidden villages use some kind of tactical combat vest that is given to a ninja once he or she has been promoted to jounin rank.

Another notable exception was that instead of a shuriken holster on his right thigh, there was a instead a leather holster for the weapon he just put in there as he was coming out: a half-meter long harpoon gun. on his left thigh was a long pouch which Sakura guessed held munitions for his weapon. She also guessed that it was a harpoon that took out that kunai earlier.

His hitai-ate, tied around his left upper arm, was the same symbol as the boy's.

"Great," mumbled Sakura, "more stuff to figure out."

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Author's Note: A little longer than my usual chapter lengths, but necessary for all the stuff I wanted to get in here. Next chapter: Who are the mysterious ninjas? What do they want? What will happen to Kurage? Will Sakura get back to the restaurant in time before her food gets cold? Find out in the next chapter! In the meantime, pls R&R as usual.


	4. Strangers on a Mission

Meanwhile, in Konoha.

It was already late afternoon and the sun had began to set. Across the village, contruction projects were slowing to a halt as the work was over for the day. Already, may of the villagers and guest craftsmen and artisans were settling down for dinner in front of a warm fire. In the Hokage's office, things were no different. Tsunade was almost down to the last document of her stack.

With the whole reconstruction of the village going on, taking up the majority of the ninja labor, there weren't many missions being handed out and thus that meant less paper work. For once, Tsunade might actually finish all the work assigned to her on the day they were due. but as Tsunade toiled away, stamping random papers with her seal, Shizune was in deep thought about the events of the day before.

"Was it really wise to send away Sakura-chan like that?" asked Shizune.

Tsunade, still working on her papers, didn't even look up when she answered her long-time apprentice. "What do you mean, Shizune?"

"It it's a question of skill, Sakura has enough. And even if that wasn't the case, you, Tsunade-sama, still have plenty of stuff you can teach her. I don't think you need to send her away to the neighboring land like that just for some training. We're in the middle of a war after all. A power fighter like Sakura would be a great asset. I think it was a waste to get rid of her like this all of a sudden."

"You're right, Shizune."

There was a moment of silence between them. Shizune was taken aback by that unusually straight-forward reply. "Um...I'm right?"

"If it was purely about skill, I would've promoted Sakura to jonin level long ago. But that's not what she needs. that's not what she's missing. the hard truth that even I was having trouble accepting...Sakura is not ready for this war."

"Then what is the reason for this trip? What do you want her to learn?"

Now, Tsunade looked up at her. "The same thing I learned when I was her age. The same lesson that allowed me to overcome the grief I felt afterwards when my younger brother and my lover died, and when my good friend and comrade betrayed the village and killed my sensei."

Another moment of silence.

"...How will she learn this?" finally asked Shizune.

Tsunade showed the tiniest hint of a knowing smirk. "I have somebody there that owes me a favor. She promised it to me but right now I think that lesson should be for the next generation instead. Just like me, she believes in learning on the job."

"What about Konohamaru's team then? you want to teach them the same lesson too?"

"Nah. For those kids, I just thought it would be a wonderful oppurtunity for them to explore the world outside our village. They need the experience. they need to see how other people in the world live."

Tsunade finished the last of her paperwork by stamping down on the last document in the pile. That was it for today, of course Tsunade knew better than to relax since in the morning when she comes back they'll be another stack of papers waiting for her.

"Don't be so worried about them," said Tsunade. "They're tough. They can handle anything thrown at them. I'll see you tomorrow, Shizune."

And with that, the fifth hokage simply disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Shizune sighed in exasperation. One thing she still hasn't gotten used to when it comes to her master was how seldom she ever got a straight answer from her. But really. If she couldn't get a straight answer from the real Tsunade, what chance did she have with her shadow clone?

That's right. A little trick she borrowed from during Kakashi's training of Naruto in elemental chakra molding. While her real body was stuck in the Kage summit, she sent a shadow clone back to Konoha every other day since the summit started to take care of business at home, essentially allowing her to be in two places at the same time. And since the shadow clone's experiences returned to the user once dispelled, the real Tsunade stayed personally up to date with all that was happening at home. One simply couldn't fault the woman's dedication to her village.

Much to the chagrin of Shizune of course. She did warn her master on how taxing on the chakra reserves it was to create shadow clones like this, but of course Tsunade insisted she had plenty of chakra to spare.

"I swear...That woman will be damned if I die before her from all this stress."

Shizune decided to spare herself a headache by not dwelling on the her past thoughts. She made her way out of the office hopping to find dinner within the hour.

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Back in the cave prison.

She was running out of time and options but she had one last thing up her sleeve.

It had already been a few hours since Kurage was injected with the Devil Urchin's venom and already the pain was becoming unbearable. She was panting heavily and sweating by the bucketful. Physically and mentally drained from the fight which landed her in there in the first place, she didn't have much options to start with. Now, with the poison running through her body, she couldn't recover any chakra as well not to mention that the pain was physically draining her as well.

But there was still one last option left. Something her enemies didn't know about yet. She still had chakra for her one last trump card. She decided then and there that she would do it at that moment before late when she has no chakra at all. The pain from the poison was enough so that she barely even felt the prick when she bit her own thumb. She let the cut bleed a little then...

"_Summoning Jutsu._"

She slammed her palm to the ground. A small puff of smoke quietly exploded in the small space. And out of that smoke appeared what to any other person passing by looked like a smooth flat rock the size of a frying pan.

Kurage stared at the rock, waiting patiently for a few moments. Eventually she got annoyed. She balled her right hand into a fist and gave the rock a nice, strong knock.

"Ouch!" exclaimed the rock.

It shook for a second before two large claws popped out from the front and pushed it off the ground and quickly stood on six long legs that unfolded from the sides. Two beady black eye popped out of the front and looked up at the stricken kunoichi with mild annoyance.

"Kurage-chan! Do you have to wake me up like that?" asked the crab-like creature that looks like a rock, shaking its claw angrily.

"I'm sorry, Iwakami-san. But I'm in a bit of a pinch and...argh...I need your help."

The rock crab, Iwakami, then started to notice things that were odd about his summoner. "Oi, Kurage-chan. Are you alright? You don't look so good. And where is this place anyway?"

"Ugh...It's Devil urchin venom. I've been injected with some."

"What? Devil urchin?"

"Shhhh! Please, be quiet, Iwakami-san. the guards are far away but they might still hear us."

Suddenly, they both heard footsteps approaching. they knew it was somebody from above was coming. Kurage quickly gave her summon a silent order by pointing to a shadowy area. Iwakami hopped to that part of the pit and quickly tucked in his legs, claws, and eyes and became a rock once again. And not a moment too soon.

"Hey! what's going on down there?" exclaimed a henchman armed with a spiked club as he peered into the pit. Beyond the iron bars, all he saw was the girl sitting in the middle and nothing else. Deciding nothing was wrong, the henchman walked away.

As soon as the henchman's footsteps can no longer be heard, Iwakami un folded his extermeties out of his shell and looked up at his summoner. He had already pretty much figured out what needs to be done.

"Don't worry, Kurage-chan," he reassured the kunoichi. "I'll find Yuudai and Satoshi-kun and get help. Just hang in there until we return."

Kurage nodded. "Please hurry. These guys are planning something and-"

A sudden stinging pain shot through her stomach and she visibly cringed. That infection from the venom was spreading fast. Iwakami looked very worried. "I must hurry. Just tough it out. I know you're strong enough."

Iwakami then proceeded to run up the wall like a spider until he reached the lip of the pit. He easily slipped through an opening in the crisscrossing bars that covered the pit. Kurage watched helplessly as her summoned friend left her behind. It couldn't be helped. In her condition it was to dangerous for Iwakami to try and break her out from where ever they were. Guards would be on them in moments and she wouldn't have had a snowball's chance in hell of defending herself.

For now, she'll just have to grit her teeth and bear with it.

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Back at Wakame Village, at the Floating Lily restaurant.

For the first time during the whole day, Konohamaru was quiet for the sole reason that he was at a loss of words. All three of them in the genin team were.

When Sakura came back, Konohamaru expected her to be hauling a whole bunch of shopping bags or something since that was what she said she was gonna do when she left. What he didn't expect was that she would bring back two shady looking ninjas with her and then offering them a seat at their table and ordering some food for them.

After that, they had all pretty much stayed quiet as the whole group of six simply sat there and ate their meals. Konohamaru didn't know what to ask first. Who were these guys? What are they doing here? Are they enemies or allies? What village are they from? and most importantly...

Why won't that kid stop glaring at him like that?

Ever since that kid sat across from Konohamaru and their eyes met, daggers have been flying back and forth between their stares. The others noticed as well. Moegi and Udon were looking nervous while Sakura and the jonin were pretending to not be the wiser. of course it was only a matter of moments before one of the boys decided he had the bigger ego. it happened to be Konohamaru.

"You got a problem there, buddy?" said Konohamaru through gritted teeth.

"No. No problem here," replied the other boy.

"Good. Because I was wondering what is it about my face you find so interesting."

"Nothing much. In fact, I was thinking of how I could make it more interesting...using a kunai."

Konohamaru's eye twitched. "Wow. You really need a bit more imagination. See, I personally would use something like, say...your own severed foot."

Satoshi's eye twitched more. Veins popped on each of their temples. The tension grew between them as if it was called there by a summoning technique. Innevitably, the tension reached the boiling point when the two young boys set down their respective bowls of food and tried to jump at each other across the table. _Tried_.

Before the two could meet each other with their fists, Sakura and the jonin grabbed each of them by their collars and forcefully dragged them back down to a sitting position followed by a quick slap to the back of the boys' heads.

"Oww!" they both exclaimed.

Moegi sighed at their pathetic attempt to display bravado and Udon looked like he wasnted to pretend he didn't know his otherwise best friend. They basically just sat in silence for another minute before the silence was broken. By Sakura this time.

"I'm not sure who you guys are," she said in a calm voice. "But I know this: You guys are not our enemies. We made some kind of mistake when we just walked into town unannounced like that. PLease, tell us how we could rectify this situation."

Being the Hokage's apprentice meant that, aside from her combat and medical abilities, Sakura managed to pick up a few ambassadorial tricks of the trade. Open any exchange with an unknown element with the suggestion that _they_ were the good guys and you were the once who messed up.

The jonin however was not fooled but his calm demeanor didn't indicate any sign of being insulted. "Well, be that as it may," he said "it was also a mistake to attack you so blatantly, even if you were under suspicion. But it's obvious that you guys are not really here to hurt anyone. Please forgive our impertinence."

"Don't you mean _his_ impertinence," said Konohamaru pointing to Satoshi.

Konohamaru got another slap at the back of his head from Sakura. "Ow!"

Satoshi laughed at this. "Hah! Serves you right!" This promptly earned him a second slap as well from the jonin.

"I think we should start with basic introductions," said the jonin. "I am Yoshino, Yuudai. And this is my student, Satoshi."

"And I'm Haruno, Sakura. These are my juniors, Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon. We're ninjas from the Hidden Leaf. We're here on a mission to meet up with some people. I don't think we have anything to do with each other since during our briefing didn't involve anything about other ninjas..." Sakura thought briefly about it, "...so far. It wasn't the clearest briefing I've had to be honest."

"In that case, you people must've just arrived in town. That means you have nothing to do with our business which has been going on since the start of last week."

"I guess this was just an unfortunate meeting. I hope you're not to mad about me getting into a fight with your student here."

"Oh don't worry about it. In fact..." Yuudai turned towards Satoshi. "...I should be thanking you. you taught him a good lesson. That it is foolhardy to simply rush in and attack an opponent you have no information on. And if he does get into a battle, to know when it would be smart to call it quits."

Satoshi turned to his teacher with a disheartened look. "Oh, c'mon sensei! You know I never give up in a fight."

"Satoshi-kun, there's a fine line between bravery and just plain foolishness. You really need to learn to find that line otherwise it's gonna be your butt on the line."

Satoshi was slightly taken aback and then he quickly turned away and looked back down on his food. Yuudai let out a barely audible sigh. He looked back at their hosts and decided that it was just about the end of the day for them. he had a few more lessons to teach his young student.

"I suppose we already took up too much of your time," said Yuudai. "As a ninja, I know that time is critical in any mission. So I think we'll just part here."

"Don't worry about it," replied Sakura. "It wasn't a big deal. We're not all that strapped for time anyway."

Yuudai nodded and started to get up, pulling his student along. "Then good luck to your mission."

Sakura nodded back. "You too."

The two ninjas then started to leave and the other four thought that was that. Nothing like meeting new people in new places, huh? But there was something strange in the encounter. She made sure to check up on this town the night of her mission briefing. She found no records of any known hidden villages near the town...or anywhere else in a hundred mile radius. Also, the symbols on the _hitai-ate_. She's never seen that symbol before, at least on a ninja. Should she have mentioned the veils of medicine which had the same symbol she brought along? Would they know what they were?

And also, that boy didn't attack her for no reason. They were looking for someone. The boy, Satoshi, asked her directly. But really, should they bother with it. Those ninjas had their own mission and they had their's. There's no reason for this encounter to be no more than a coincidence. Best they just leave things as they are and move along, Sakura concluded.

"Maybe we should've asked them," said Moegi all of a sudden.

Sakura turned to her. "Ask what?"

"Maybe they know where we can find the person we're looking for. They do seem to know this town pretty well."

"They're on a mission of their own, Moegi-chan. It would be professionaly impolite to interupt them when it's niether of out business. Besides, with a name like hers, I doubt we'll have that much trouble finding this woman called _Lady Miho of the Lily."_

They were at the door when Yuudai heard the name. He froze mid-step and his eye went wide with surprise. He whipped around fast enough the got the attention of the whole floor and quickly walked back to the table that he just left.

"How do you know that name?" he asked Sakura. And although his tone sounded polite, to a trained ear, he was obviously demanding for an answer.

The genin, all four of them were suddenly on edge as they realized the atmosphere around them has shifted. The rest of the patrons and restaurant staff did their best to simply ignore the situation and pretend it was not happening.

"Please tell me," continued Yuudai, the urgency of his voice a little more pronounced now. "Why do you want to meet her?"

Sakura wouldn't budge from her seat, but a million thought patterns were already running through her head. How should she handle this now? She knew, the situation was now wafer thin and a wrong move could mean conflict that they didn't need right now. Several tense moments passed when none of them would say a word or even move an inch.

Eventually though, Sakura decided to take the initiative.

"We are not you're enemy," she said matter-of-factly. "But you can't help but want proof of that, don't you? And It's pretty obvious now that we're not as isolated from each other as we first thought. So let's just do it this way. Please allow us to help you in whatever mission you're doing now and we will do our best to follow you. If at the end you think we've proven ourselves enough, you can decide wether you're willing to help us look for the person we're looking for...How's that?"

More tense moments of silence.

For the genin, it felt like an hour as the two more senior ninjas basically had a stand-off on either side of the table. Almost subconsciously, their hands started to reach for their shuriken pouches. But then...

"...Deal," said Yuudai.

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Author's Note: I realized that I haven't really explained how Tsunade could be in two places at once. At the start of this story, the Kage summit was already happening so I realized Tsunade would be stuck there for the most part but I came up with the Shadow Clone trick early on to explain her second presence in Konoha...problem is I forgot to explain it in the first chapter, so I decided to squeeze it in here. That should be the last mention of Tsunade for a while.


	5. Meet the enemy: Yuuto of the Earth

Nightfall, near the outskirts of the town.

In the thicket of the forests there was an abandoned house that, by the evidence shown on an old worn out sign still nailed over the door, used to be a dango shop for travellers. By the amount of decay, it must've been over a decade since the original owners left for whatever reason. Inside said house, a couple of shady men, wearing simple cloth masks over their mouths and each armed with a sword strapped to their backs, passed the time with an old chess board.

"Isn't it about time he showed up already?" asked one man as he moved a piece on the board.

"Well, it's not the first time he's been late." replied the other man, also moving a piece.

They continued to play for another couple of minutes in silence. Outside, all that could be heard were assorted insects chirping and whistling. The growing impatience of one of the men was quite obvious to the other. He could understand though. The agreed meeting time passed well over half-an-hour ago.

"He better step up," said the first man. "We're supposed to be running a tight ship here. The boss really hates loose ends. If that guy's been wondering about yapping about our operations...This keeps up we better just cut him loose."

"It'd be a waste. Maybe we can just stick him on guard duty or something."

"Whatever. All I know is that if he doesn't show up in the next five minutes, I'm gonna-"

_*__KNOCK__-__KNOCK__*_

Both men quickly got off the floor and reached for their swords the moment they heard the knock on the door. They slowly started to unsheathe their swords, making sure not to make a sound.

"It's me," said the person behind the door. "Open up!"

It was a voice familiar to the two men. As soon as they heard it they got rid of all pretenses of caution. They dropped their swords back and proceeded to the door. They opened it and saw there a tall man with ragged features of an overworked thug. Just the man they were expecting.

"Your late," said first man who was in the house. "...Again."

"Hope you didn't run into trouble or something...Did you?" asked the second man.

"No," answered the newcomer. "No trouble I couldn't handle. Also, everything is in order. All the supplies and weapons you asked for are in the cart. You can see for yourself."

The two men looked to each other and gave a quick nod to the other and proceeded to walk outside. the night sky was calm and clear with the moon shining bright. more than enough light for them to see the cart containing several wooden cases of weapons and large jugs of food and drink. Indeed everything look in order to the layman's eye.

"You have all the supplies we asked for," asked the first man again.

"Yes."

"All the _exact_ number?"

"Two thousand steel kunais, two hundred short swords, two hundred axes, two hundred sickles, one hundred bows with fifty arrows each bow, three hundred meters of steel chain, a jag full of fresh peaches, a jag full of assorted dried fish and squid, a jag full of rice, and fifty bottles of sake."

"...So, everything _is_ in order it seems. Enough to keep our operation running for another month at least. Nice of you to get everything right."

"Although, there is one thing off though, right partner?" asked the second guy from before. He flashed the first guy a knowing look to see if they had an understanding.

The fist guy gave the same knowing look back to his partner. "Yes. One thing is a bit off."

In the fraction of a second, the two men drew their swords, turned to the delivery man, and thrust the tip at the delivery man's throat. However, in the same time frame, the delivery man drew what looked like a short harpoon on each hand and parried both sword blades away from his jugular. The two swords crossed like a pair of scissors with the man holding off each from cutting his throat.

"Did you think a simple _transformation__jutsu_ like that would've fooled us," asked the first man. "After all we've been trained to detect an aura of chakra surrounding people in disguise. I knew you were a ninja the moment I passed by you at the door."

"Hmph," snorted the delivery man, as his jutsu broke and disappeared in a puff of smoke. All that remained was the form of Yuudai. "looks like you two are a couple of _rogue__nin_. And here I was hoping you guys were just a couple of normal thugs.

"Well, I guess you should've thought of that possibility, buddy," said the second man.

Yuudai replied with a wry smile. "...I did."

It only took a fraction of a second for that to sink in for the two rogue ninjas. But by then it was too late.

In a burst of white smoke, several of the pots and wooden cases from the cart jumped up and transformed into Sakura and the rest of the group. The pink-haired kunoichi, within milliseconds, was behind the two rogue ninjas and had a kunai in each hand trained on the back of their throats. The four young genin quickly moved into position, flanking the two rogues on either side. Konohamaru and Satoshi on Sakura's right and Udon and Moegi on her left, all our had kunais drawn.

"Lower those blades, you two," ordered Sakura to the two rouges who were in no position to argue at that moment.

The two of them could only glance over their shoulders at Sakura's smirking demeanor. They suddenly felt sharp metal tips on their chests right over where their hearts are. They looked forward again and saw that Yuudai had now moved his two harpoons to their chest, ready to stab them.

"I'd do what she says if I were you," he said with a winning smirk.

Seeing no real option, the two rogue ninjas grudgingly lowered their swords. "Those hitai-ate...What the hell are foreign ninjas doing in this land and meddling in our business?" asked the first rogue, shooting a glare at Sakura.

"I don't really know who any of you are or what this business of yours," she replied. "But all I know it we have our own mission that these guys can help us with. I'm just being efficient."

"Whoever you are, you'll regret messing with us. You have no idea what we can do."

Sakura's face was stone cold but underneath it she was worrying. She and her team came to this land to find someone and learn something. They did not come here to make more enemies and Konoha could afford at the moment. She thought these guys were just a band of thugs. If that were the case then she really had nothing to worry about. Thugs are a dime a dozen and are generally harmless in the long term. But to be facing and organization that employed rogue ninjas, well that was a different matter.

Yuudai had only given them a little information on who they were up against. What they knew was that these guys ran some kind of smuggling ring. How and why this was a threat to Yuudai's hidden village wasn't made clear, nor did Sakura think it was a necessary to know detail at the time he told them all. But now the odds just got re-stacked and the medical nin from Konoha was not finding the new odds comfortable.

Yuudai must've read her mind she was thinking this. He replied almost directly yo her thoughts. "Don't worry, Sakura-san. My village is honorable. There's no way we'll forget this favor from you guys. These scumbags are our problem and your village, Sakura-san, will have our protection."

Sakura through him a bit of a surprised look but soon gave him a smile and a nod in appreciation. Looks like she got lucky when she decided to help these guys.

"As if that'll do you any good," said the first rogue ninja. "When we're done, the _Aoigakure_ won't be in any position to help anyone."

The Leaf nin raised a collective eyebrow. Aoigakure? That's a new one. None of them can seem to recall ever hearing that name until now. Is that where Yuudai and Satoshi came from?

The jonin of the group pretty much answered that for them when he pressed his harpoon harder against the first rogue's throat and said, "What the hell do you plan to do with my village? Why are you fighting with us anyway? What are you after?"

"Hehehe," chuckled the second roge nin. "You must be newly promoted. I can't believe a ninja from _Aoi_ would not have recognized us by now."

That last statement hung in the air for a few moments. Yuudai narrowed his eyes and tried to get a good look at the two enemies in front of him. At first he thought they were just a couple of hired thugs. then he realized they were rogue ninjas. Then, slowly, he was now realizing these two came from...

"Wait..." said Yuudai, in almost a whisper. "I know who you are. You're from my-"

A sudden rumbling from the ground interrupted Yuudai and generally surprised the rest of the group. Except for the two rogues who just waiting for this moment and capitalized on the brief moment of distraction to give themselves some distance from their would-be captors by jumping to the side. Sakura and Yuudai had about two milliseconds to jump out of the way as spike made of rock started popping up out of the ground. They narrowly missed. The ninjas readied themselves for a fight that they knew was coming. By instinct, as if they planned for this, Sakura faced the two rogue ninjas and ordered "Konohamaru, Udon, Moegi! Form up on me."

Yuudai, then faced the opposite direction of Sakura, making sure to cover her blindspot as well as search for the new aggressor he knew was there. He ordered "Satoshi, back me up." All four genin, recovering from their own little case of surprise, followed the orders and formed up behind their respective leaders. The two rogues faced off with Sakura's team, already with their swords at the ready. Meanwhile...

"Whoever the hell you are," said Yuudai in the direction of the woods. "you might as well show yourself. I know you're out there. You won't catch me off-guard again."

A few moments of silence passed. nothing but the crickets made a sound as the tension only increased. They, they heard it. A low, guttural laugh that came from the woods, followed by soft footsteps. A second later, a mountain of a man carrying a large hammer stepped out into the moonlight.

"I guess I could expect as much from you, Yuudai," said the large man. "To think that the council would send you and your student after me...or was it because of your sister?

Yuudai glared at his enemy. "Yuuto. I guess I shouldn't be surprised you had your dirty hands in this."

The way he spoke was very indicative of a fact that these guys knew each other. Something Sakura quickly picked up. "You guys know each other?" she asked.

"Yuuto was formally a ninja from our village before he got greedy and decided to go rogue on us. He tried to steel our villages secrets and sell them to the black market. After we discovered him, he became a missing nin. I had thought he would be smart and simply go into hiding...But it looks like I underestimated his idiocy. My mistake."

Yuuto forced a grin. "Insulting me already? I had hoped you would be more respectful considering I'm your senior and all."

"You are no senior of mine. A ninja who abandons his own village for personal profit is less than pond scum. And I will regard you as such, Yuuto."

Yuuto's grin quickly faded. "Just like your sister. You two really are stubborn."

At the mention of his sister, Yuudai's eyes widened for just a second before narrowing back to threatening slits. "What do you know about Kurage-chan? Where is she?"

"You'll find out first hand soon enough..."

Yuudai's eye widened again. "...What did you do to her?"

"If you are really in that much of a hurry to find out..." Yuuto lifted his hammer, "...make this easy for all of us and don't put up a fight!"

They all saw it. A momentary glow of chakra enveloped the hammer's head when it was raised to its highest. With a wry grin, Yuuto exclaimed, as he brough the hammer down "_Earth __Release__: __Spike __Bed __Jutsu__!"_

"Jump!" exclaimed Yuudai.

As soon as the ground started to rumble, The rest of the team shoot straight up into the air, narrowly avoiding being turned into Swiss cheese by the over a hundred sharp rock spikes that jutted out of the ground. Konohamaru let out an audible sigh of relief. And they came back down, they reoriented their bodies so that they landed in between the spikes and away from the harmful, pointy tips. As the landed, ready for battle, they noticed that their enemies were on the run...in opposite directions!

Yuuto ran down the road heading south while the other two rogues headed north up the road. This was bad, Yuudai knew. He had to capture at least one of them alive. They knew something about this plot against his village. Also, more importantly, they have his younger sister. He cannot let them escape! But how will he-

"We'll take those two up the road," said Sakura. "You guys take that fat guy. Alright?"

Yuudai turned towards her, thought about it for a second. Right, no one else here to trust but them. Might as well. "Alright, we'll meet back here. Try to capture them alive."

Sakura nodded then turned to the rest of her team. "Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon. We're moving!"

The four leaf ninja rushed off to go and confront the two unnamed rogues. Yuudai watched them off before quickly turning to Satoshi. "Get ready, we're going after Yuuto. This won't be easy."

With that, he started running after his mark, Satoshi following behind him closely.

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Meanwhile, a short distance away on the cliffs.

The rock crab, Iwakami, was just making his way down a pass trying his best to hide his frustrations. He has been travelling all day long and has yet to get even near the town of Wakame, their fixed meeting point for this mission. The cave where his summoner was being imprisoned was quite a ways off and, as a crab, he wasn't exactly built for speed.

"Having an near-impregnable, rock hard shell may be all fine and dandy for the most part," he groaned to no one in particular. "But, by the gods, are my legs killing me. I wish I could sleep already. Once we rescue her, Kurage-chan will owe me big time for this. Maybe I'll make her cook my some of that rare stew made out of-"

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the ground exploding in the nearby forest.

"What the?" He turned, just in time to see several spikes of rock jutting out of the ground and quickly saw the six ninjas who were in the air who just missed being skewered.

"A battle? Who could it be?"

The distance was too far and there was not enough light to identify any of the six ninjas who now dropped back down to the ground. So Iwakami reverted to another trick. He folded up into his rock form and meditated.

Iwakami may be a water-borne by nature. But he had a lot of affinity for the earth element. In his meditative state, Iwakami could read he's surroundings by tuning into the earth around him, he gains a sort of empathic sense of his environment. It was calming for him, which he claimed was why he was asleep all the time.

Through the earth he could detect the chakra signatures of a total of nine people. Two of them very familiar. And that was all he needed to know. He popped out of his rock form and stretched his legs and claws out again.

"That signiture...It's Yuudai-san and Satoshi-kun. They're in a middle of a fight I see." He started to walk in the direction he sensed they were headed. "Better get to them quick and sort all this out. Kurage-chan is running out of time."

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In the forest.

Yuudai and Satoshi were blurring through the trees, chasing down their target who was running on foot, heading south. Yuudai knew that Yuuto was faster than this. It seemed he was not running away this time. He was leading them into a confrontation.

"Satoshi-kun, listen to me," he said. "Our opponent is dangerous. Nothing like you've faced before. I know him best. So hang back while I confront him myself."

"No! I can fight him too!"

"Not yet you can't. He's an elite. He killed five of his peers when he left our village. He's a remorseless killer. You're not ready for him."

"But I can-"

"That's an order!" Yuudai exclaimed with a lot more authority this time.

"...Yes...sensei."

The boy was eager. Yuudai thought it sort of reminded him of what he was like at that age. He also remembered how that eagerness nearly got him killed on a few occasions. Evin so, there are very few who will say he has learned his lesson. His acceptance of this mission without backup other than his two students, one of who being his last remaining family, can bee seen as proof of that. 'Hang on, Kurage,' he thought. 'I will find you.'

His thoughts were interrupted again by a huge boulder that, most likely without its own choosing, was hurtling towards them.

Both of them managed to get out of the way before either of them got squashed like bugs. It was then that they finally exited the forest and landed at a rocky edge of a cliff. The area was very wide and the terrain was rough. Off the edge was long drop to a deep-running river hidden below the mountains. In the middle of this clearing, Yuuto was waiting for them.

As soon as their feet hit solid ground, Yuudai and Satoshi got into fighting stances, ready as they can be for anything.

"No wonder you never made it as a real ninja," said Yuudai, feining a calm tone. "You never really understood the concept of subtlety, have you, Yuuto?"

"There's that mouth of yours that you're so famous for," replied the villain as he held his hammer ready. "I'll be sure to stuff it full of dirt once I'm done with you."

Yuudai didn't wait. He charged straight at the enemy. Satoshi looked like he was about to charge as well but remembered his sensei's order. So he reluctantly held himself back and simply watched.

Yuuto was had raised his hammer up high and was getting ready to slam it back down at Yuudai's head once he was in range. Yuudai, wouldn't let that happen of course. In mid sprint, he drew his harpoon gun and shot a single harpoon that impacted the head of Yuuto's hammer. The impact of the harpoon was enough to push back the hammer enough that Yuuto missed his opportunity to swing it down. He was open now.

Yuudai jumped and delivered a devastating spinning kick to Yuuto's face. Despite the size difference between them, Yuuto was actually forced back a few feet. Yuudai, knowing he had the advantage in speed, quickly moved around to Yuuto's left side and delivered a swift elbow right to the kidney, followed by a kick to the thigh, and ending the combo with another jumping kick this time to the side of Yuuto's face.

The large ninja was again forced by the blows to slide a few feet to his right. Yuuto swung his large hammer wildly in an attempt to hit his opponent. But Yuudai saw it coming. Yuudai jumped up into the air, right over the hammer and over Yuuto himself. By the time he landed, Yuuto had his back to him, open to attack.

Yuudai shot a quick fist to the bottom of Yuuto's spine. The caused the large man to scream in pain for a moment. The stunned spine of his lost control of his legs fro a moment and he fell to his knees. Yuudai, seeing another opportunity, drove an elbow down one of Yuuto's shoulder blades, causing another scream of pain and forcing the large man down on his hands.

Yuuto needed a quick moment to reorient his brain to what was happening. Due to his girth, physical attacks had always had little effect on him. But Yuudai's personal style of _taijustu_, using extremely precise and sharp blows, allows him to penetrate his hardened muscular defenses. Yuuto felt as if every blow hit his bones directly.

Yuudai, calmly walked around while cocking his harpoon gun and loading a new harpoon. He reached Yuuto's side and aimed the harpoon point blank at Yuuto's temple.

"Subtlety and finesse," said Yuudai. "Two concepts you never really understood. You know, I'm surprised you passed the chunnin exams. You didn't bribe anyone did you?"

"Kill me and you kill any chance of finding your sister, you know that?" said Yuuto with a wry grin.

For a few seconds, Yuudai didn't reply. But then, he suddenly aimed the harpoon gun at Yuuto's left hand and fired the shot. The harpoon easily pierced the hand and nailed it to the ground. Yuuto screamed in pain.

"Another thing you fail at, Yuuto," continued Yuudai in a calm tone. "You could never handle getting hurt that well. So you bulked up your body so that normal attacks that would send an ordinary man to his knees would feel like no more than a slap in the hand to you. You took forbidden drugs that made your skin as hard as leather and your muscles as thick as a brick wall. And I suppose it does work for you to a certain extent, even if you had to sacrifice a lot of your movement."

Yuudai paused, as he re-cocked his harpoon gun and loaded a new shot in. He made sure Yuuto saw him do it. Yuudai could see that the large man was getting nervous.

"But the thing is, my family's fighting style emphasises on sharp, penetrating attacks that are designed specifically to break through, or completely ignore an opponents physical defenses. So, even though you're right that I can't kill you since you have information I need...I can do a lot that will make you _wish_ I'd have killed you already."

Yuudai moved around to Yuuto's other side, kicking his fallen hammer out of the way. Yuudai aimed the harpoon at Yuuto's other hand, his finger on the trigger.

"Save yourself a night of misery and tell me what you and your little gang are up to. And tell me where my little sister is."

"You're gonna have to try harder than that to intimidate me."

Without hesitation, Yuudai fired his harpoon and nailed Yuuto's other hand to the ground. The large man again screamed in pain, this time for longer.

Meanwhile.

Off to the side, Satoshi was watching the whole fight with silent anticipation. Watching his sensei move so fluidly like that, dominating an enemy twice his size was quite a sight to see. But he desperately wanted to get into the fray himself, eager to prove his worth. He even had a kunai at hand already and his feet were bouncing restlessly.

"Man I wanna get in there," he said in a hushed tone. "Why can't sensei just let me have a go at him? I can take him! The guy looks like a total pu-"

A rustling in the bush caught Satoshi's attention and the boy comically jumped into the air with a surprised squeal. He turned around and clumsily threw his kunai into the bushes behind him. The kunai shot into the bushes and a thud could be heard when the kunai hit the ground followed quickly by a very surprised "Whoa!"

The first thing Satoshi thought when he heard that was that the voice that said it sounded quite familiar. He got his answer as to why when out of the bushes walked out a rather annoyed Iwakami holding his kunai in one claw.

"Satoshi-kun!" exclaimed the irritated rock crab. "Didn't they teach you how to tell friend from foe?"

"Sorry, Iwakami-san. I was...uh...nervous."

"And here I was, walking all over this valley looking for you guys so that you can help Kurage-chan!"

Satoshi's eyes went wide. "Wait! Iwakami-san, you know where Kurage-nee-chan is!"

Back with Yuudai.

Yuudai was loading yet another harpoon, ready to fire at whatever spot on Yuuto's body would cause the most agony. Yuuto's were bleeding out and his teeth were on the verge of cracking since he was cringing them so much.

"Face it," said Yuudai, "you're a failure and you'll always will be. I've heard the rumors that you've cheated your way up the ranks through schemes. You had all this great plans set up. Smuggling, counterfeiting, fraud...among other things. Of course that all ended when my sensei...my father...found you out. So you killed him."

Yuudai walked cautiously to Yuuto's side and pressed the harpoon to his side, right where Yuuto's kidney was. He continued. "But you couldn't even do that right. The supposed assassination attempt ended up becoming a street fight that killed half your gang as well. Everything you worked for was ruined by your own messed-up planning. That's why you had to run, didn't you?"

Yuudai took note that Yuuto stopped groaning in pain now and was breathing heavilly. It was the kind of breathing from a man that was barely keeping his anger in.

"You...don't know crap about me!" declared Yuuto.

"Don't I? A rogue criminal who abandons his village the minute the jig's up. What's to know. You're scum! Lower even! You threw away all your potential because you wanted the easy way out."

"I will beat you! I will beat all of you! And I'll show that village of yours why it was a mistake to shun me!"

"Get over yourself. Tell me what I need to know...and I'll make your trip to hell as painless as possible."

"You first!"

With a burst of strength and a loud scream, Yuuto pulled his hands up and freed them from the harpoons. Yuudai jumped back as Yuuto quickly swung out his fist in an attempt to his his opponent. As Yuudai was just hitting the ground, Yuuto, did a few quick handseals.

"_Earth __Release__: __Earth __Crusher __Jutsu__!_"

A wall of earth exploded out of the ground and started to barrel straight down towards Yuudai who then dodged it at the last second by jumping to the side. As the dust settled, Yuudai was doing another set of hand-seals, going for another attack. As if, Yuudai would just let him.

Yuudai did a quick set of hand-seals of his own, beating out Yuuto in the execution of his technique. "_Water __Release__: __Shrouding __Fog __Jutsu__."_

Yuudai brought his hands to his mouth, made a little circle with his palms and exhaled. From out of his palms, came a white fog that blew across the ground and quickly enveloped the surrounding area. Yuuto stopped his hand-seals just as he reach the last one. His technique required some aiming which is now ruined because all he could see was a thick whit fog

Yuuto cursed under his breath and quick rushed to where he knew his hammer had fallen. He found it quickly and picked it up. He was turning around when suddenly foot came out of fog and hit him square in the jaw.

Yuuto's head snapped back and he stumbled a couple of steps backwards. He readied himself again. only to be almost brought to his knees by another kick to the thigh. It continued on like that for a while. After the thigh, Yuuto got a punch to the chest, a kick to the shoulder, a jab at the stomach, and finally, a dropkick to the temple. All the blows stung as they hit specified pressure points Yuuto didn't know he had. Such was the efficiency of Yuudai's fighting style.

"Come out, you coward!" Yuuto exclaimed.

For a while, nothing happened. All was quiet as the fog slowly dissipated around them, exposing more and more of the ground again. Yuuto was waiting for any sign of his enemy.

"If you insist," came Yuudai's voice.

Yuudai suddenly charged out of the remaining fog and pelted the surprised Yuuto with a barrage of precisely aimed thrust kicks. the kicks he squarely on pressure points across Yuuto's front. Yuuto tried to defend himself with his hammer but that was goin nowhere fast. Whenever yuuto tried to swing his weapon, Yuudai either stopped him or easilly dodged the blow.

Soon, Yuuto was nearly on his knees, his energy close to depleted. His body was battered and bruised. Yuudai was just there, standing stoically, not an ounce of pity in his eyes.

"There are over a dozen pressure points on the body where if hit, would completely paralyze or even kill a person," said Yuudai. "I know them all. I avoided them all. Don't tempt me to do otherwise."

Yuuto cringed He pretty much knew he had bitten off more than he can chew. He damn it if he will show weakness now. "I don't care what you do to me. However this ends, you will never see Kurage alive again!"

From the side: "I doubt that!"

Both Yuudai and Yuuto turned to the sorce of the voice. Iwakami was being held up by Satoshi, who had a wry grin on his face.

"They don't need you to tell them anything, fatso!" said the rock crab. "Kurage-chan already summoned me from where you are keeping her!"

"You hear that sensei?" said Satoshi in an excited tone. "We can rescue Onee-chan now!"

Yuuto couldn't even hide the surprise on his face if he tried. The girl knew how to summon? That was not in the briefing he had on her! And even so, how did that crab thing escape the cave? The guards were not expecting him. That's probably why. Yuuto cursed his luck to damnation. He essentially just lost all the bargaining chips he had.

A fact that in no way escaped Yuudai as well. Already, Yuudai completely absorbed the information right after Satoshi said that. A quick peek off to the side to check on his opponent and he could see that they both knew this battle was as good as over. Yuuto's anger radiated from his face like a fog of it's own. And that anger drove him to an impulsive action.

Yuuto raised his hammer and made to charge towards Satoshi and Iwakami. Yuudai caught this movement and quickly drew his harpoon gun, reloaded it, and fired a shot towards Yuuto. However, Yuuto, caught that action and quickly raised his hammer to block the incoming harpoon. The projectile ended up embedding itself into the hammer's handle.

"You're gonna have to do better than a harpoon to stop me!" declared Yuuto.

"I know. I did," replied Yuudai with a wry grin.

Yuuto heard a fizzing sound. He looked towards where the harpoon embedded itself into the hammer's handle. There was a high explosive tag hanging off of it.

A beat.

The explosion rocked the ground. The flash was nearly blinding. Satoshi, who wasn't quite ready for it, stumbled back a bit and nearly fell on his butt. As for the target of the explosion itself. Yuuto's went flying backwards towards and over the edge of the cliff, screaming all the way. As his body disappeared into the chasm, the sound of his scream dissipated completely. As the dust settle at the sight of the explosion, Yuuto took inventory of what was left behind by his opponent:

The charred hammer head was all that was left of the weapon; the handle had disintegrated. Also, a distance away from the epicenter, in two different directions, were Yuuto's arms, blown right off from the elbow.

Oh, yeah, thought Yuudai. they were done here.

The jonin turned towards his student. "C'mon. We need to help the others."

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Author's note: Slow writing month for last January. Sorry about the late update. The fight scene here took quite a bit of planning on my end. I wanted to showcase what kind of fighter Yuudai is. The way I imagine it, he uses a style that emphasises accuracy and precision rather than overwhelming power. Also, as shown by the way he taunts his opponent in battle, he uses psychological tactics.

More action next chapter, as we see how Sakura's gang is fairing on their own. Pls. R&R in the meantime.


	6. It's Just Business

Meanwhile, with Leaf nin.

Their situation wasn't exactly ideal but Sakura had to admit it could've been worse. She stood between the two rogue ninjas in front of her and the rest of her team behind her, in a ready pose. Behind her, Konohamaru was nursing a cut on his thigh that was bleeding quite badly. Nothing Sakura couldn't fix in less than a minute but with the enemy right in front of her, she was otherwise preoccupied.

The cut happened when the kids bravely tried to go after one of the rogues while Sakura was busy with the other. Moegi tried to rush in to what she thought was the enemy but ended up being duped by a simple _Substitution__jutsu_ and stabbed nothing but a log. The real rogue nearly cut her in half with his sword but was saved when Konohamaru managed to shove her out of the way just in time. Sakura had told them to be careful and hang back, but they were just too excited a minute ago.

Now they were nervous. Konohamaru was leaning against Udon because the pain in his leg wouldn't allow him to stand up steadily. Moegi was doing her best to look brave while holding a kunai out at ready.

"You shouldn't bring kids to a real man's fight," said the first rogue nin. "Then again, look who I'm speaking to."

A vein popped up on Sakura's temple. "Oh, you're one of those. Oh, yeah, I'm gonna enjoy beating you to the ground."

"Not before we slice you to ribbons."

Sakura evaluated her chances at this fight. Her two opponents are experienced nin who were a few years older than her. They seemed to be most proficient in sword usage, making them formidable close range fighters. The logical tactic would be to keep their distance and use long-range attacks...problem is they didn't know any long-range attacks outside of throwing a shuriken or kunai, and they doubted that would work well.

Sakura herself was a close-range specialist so for her it was only a problem of being two against one and not the aforementioned two having weapons.

"Let's get this over with already," said the second rogue. "We have a schedule to keep and I prefer not wasting time with a bunch of children."

Konohamaru reacted badly to this. "Come here and say that to my face you-"

He tried to charge but was held back by his two teammates. The enemy just laughed. This revealed to Sakura another advantage they had, albeit a subtle one: their enemy was underestimating them. But that might be just enough. Sakura gave it some thought and she figured it was time to try out a little trick that Shizune once showed her. If this works, it'll definitely improve their odds.

"Okay, you bastards," she said. "If you want to end this, then let's end this."

Sakura made it obvious that she was reaching into her shuriken pouch and took out a handful of the projectiles. She held them ready to throw, and the two rogues prepared their defence. The three genin behind watched closely.

Sakura threw a batch of three shurikens at the enemy who expertly parried the projectiles away with their swords. The grinned at the rather amateurish and naive attack towards them. Sakura followed up with another batch of shurikens and again none of which met their targets on the enemy's bodies.

"That the best you got, girlie?" mocked the second rogue.

Sakura, without missing a beat, tossed in yet another batch. And just like before all of the spinning projectiles met with the enemy's swords. The two rogues were almost laughing now at the pointlessness of all this when suddenly they spotted something strange with one of the shurikens at the last possible second, just before it hit one of their blocking swords.

A typical shuriken in designed to be a four-pointed star shape with a circular hole in the middle that was primarily there to save weight and material. Most ninja don't really give much thought to that hole but a great ninja is nothing if they're not innovative. Shizune once accidentally discovered for herself that a typical smoke bomb, generally a small back ball, actually fits snugly into the hole of a typical shuriken and the combination made throwing smoke at the enemy at distance that much easier. Shizune passed on this trick to a few of her juniors, including Sakura, who chose very moment to use it to outsmart her enemy.

The trick worked. The enemy noticed too late and the moment the smoke loaded shuriken hit the blade, the impact detonated the smoke bomb and visibility was down to zero in a heartbeat. The two rogues were completely stunned for a second simply out of pure surprise. But that second was all Sakura needed to use her other advantage: her speed.

Utilizing the same method behind her signiture _Cherry __Blossom __Impact_ technique, Sakura kneaded a concentrated amount of chakra in her feet and used it to launch herself like a cannon shell fist first towards where the second rogue, who was hit by the smoke loaded shuriken, was standing, still hidden in the smoke.

The impact was so tremendous that it actually blew way the smoke in that small area. Sakura's fist had hit the rogue right in the center of his chest, likely destroying his ribcage in the process. The rogue went flying backwards and crashed, nearly embedding himself, into the side of a thick tree. If his spine was broken before...

The other rogue, having just witnessed his friend get flattened like that, jumped back in a automatic reaction. With his defenses down, Sakura moved quickly and clasped her hand around the ninja's sword, just above the handle and with her chakra concentrated in her thumb, snapped off the blade. She quickly followed this up with a back spinning kick that knocked the guy onto his back.

"Well that was underwhelming," she said. "I would've thought you guys were faster than that."

The rogue ninja was trying to get back up. Sakura quickly drew and threw a kunai that intentionally missed the rogue's head by a finger's width. He froze in that position, halfway between getting up and lying down. Sakura quickly walked to him and slammed him back down onto the ground with her hand around his neck.

"Since you're friend over there is obviously not in a talking mood, I'm gonna have to stick with you. Now if you cooperate with us, we'll leave alive with at least _one_ limb that's partially usable."

The rogue didn't respond but the nervousness in eyes spoke enough. He glanced over to his partner who was completely unconscious from the impact.

Sakura continued. "Now my friends think you have one of their own kidnapped and imprisoned. Tell me where that person is and how we can get to them."

"I don't know anything!"

Sakura tightened her gripped. The rogue choked for about ten seconds before Sakura loosened her grip enough to let him breath. Heavens know she didn't want to.

"Let's try this again. And keep in mind that in my village, I'm not exactly known for keeping my temper."

"I swear. Yuuto-san never told us where he took her!"

"Then tell me where you are based at."

"You'll never get through there alive! We have over a hundre-"

Sakura tightened her grip again. "Right now it's your well-being that's in question, not mine."

Her grip choked for a slightly longer period this time and the rogue nin struggled desperately for breath. For extra emphasis, Sakura grabbed the kunai she threw a moment ago from the ground next to his head and held the tip threatiningly close to one of his eyeballs. To the side, Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon watched with nervous fascination. They had gone into a few c-class missions with their Ebisu-sensei where they witnessed him interrogate a few bandits before. This shouldn't be new to them.

But for them, especially Moegi who looked up to Sakura in a way, felt an odd sense of displacement. They had never seen the otherwise big sister figure of Sakura, show such tenacity before. Oh sure, Sakura was know for her temper tantrums, but this was not her signature angry side showing right now. This was a professional, textbook, kunoichi that was in front of them that they had not yet seen before.

And speaking of professional ninjas...

"There's no need for that anymore, Haruno-san" came Yuudai's voice as he came out into the light along with Satoshi next to him.

The kids were a little surpriseed as they have yet to develop their ability to sense other chakra signatures. Sakura glanced sidways at him while keeping her hold. "What do you mean?"

"We managed to find a more reliable source of information...this little guy here." Yuudai pointed to the rock that was currently balanced on top of Satoshi's head.

Udon raised a skeptical look. "A rock?"

Again, to the surprise of the kids, the "rock" suddenly grew legs and claws as Iwakami fully revealed himself. The kids thought they really needed to work on that chakra detection thing.

"Not just a rock, boy," said Iwakami regarding the new faces of the Leaf nin then turning to Yuudai. "Are these the friends you were talking about?"

"Yes. And since we're all here now we can proceed with the rescue."

Sakura nodded, taking in the situation. "Alright, I get it now," she said, before promptly choking the rogue nin again, this time cutting off his air completely until he completely lost consciousness. She released her grip and and put away her kunai. As she stood up, Yuudai moved next to her.

"I'll take care of these two," he declared. "I'm the most senior here. It's my responsibility."

Sakura regarded him for a second until the message sank in. Her eyes widened slightly for a moment but she gave him a look and a nod of understanding. She knew what had to be done. Ninjas do not leave loose ends. Sakura moved away towards the kids while Yuudai picked up the unconscious rogues and quickly disappeared into the woods.

"Konohamaru-kun, let's see that leg of yours," she called out.

Udon and Moegi eased Konohamaru into a sitting position on the ground, careful not to aggravate the deep cut. Sakura knealt beside him and gave the injury a once over. The was indeed deep. Normally, it would need stitches and weeks to completely scar over. Then again that's what Sakura was here for.

She pressed her chakra filled palms onto the cut. Her chakra stimulated the body's natural regenerative abilities to superhuman speeds. The kids watched in fascination, especially Satoshi who let out an impressed "whoa..." without thinking. He had never seen healing jutsu in a combat situation before now. Within second, Konohamaru's leg was healed without leaving a trace...well, except maybe for the hole and the blood staining his pants but that can be sewn and washed off, at least.

"That was some fine healing," said Iwakami, who hopped dwon from Satoshi's head onto the ground. "Probably one of the best medical jutsu performance I've ever seen...and I've seen a lot."

"Uh, thank you. I do my best," replied Sakura. "By the way. Nice to meet you...um..."

"Call me Iwakami."

"Iwakami-san. We're told you could lead us to someone who needs rescuing, right?"

"Yes. I have a summoning contract with Yuudai's little sister, Kurage. She was captured late yesterday and is being held prisoner in a cave some distance from here. She summoned me to fetch help. It was lucky that we all ran into each other like this. I don't think Kurage-chan would hold out for much long."

"What do you mean, Iwakami-san?" asked Satoshi.

"They used the Devil Urchin's venom on her."

"What!"

While Satoshi was alarmed, the Leaf nin were a little lost. By Satoshi's reaction they could at least tell it was quite bad.

"I don't get it," said Udon. "What's the Devil Urchin and what's the deal with it's venom."

"I'll tell you," said Yuudai as he came out into a the light and rejoined the group. Sakura briefly took note of the small amount of blood on his fingers. "But we'll have to do it on the move. I don't want to waste anymore time. Haruno-san, is your team ready to move?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. We're ready when you are."

"Then let's be swift!"

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Back in the cave prison.

It's been a full day since she was injected with the venom. To mark the hour, Kurage vomited on one corner of her cell. At first, the venom only attacked near the surface of her skin causing a burning sensation that wouldn't go away. But now, after over twenty hours of it running around in her body, the venom was starting to affect her internal organs now.

Her stomach was convulsing due to the effects of the venom, causing random vomitting. Kurage knew this won't be the last time she will puke, even though she won't have anything left in her stomach to spill out. Soon, she knew, that the venom will start affecting other organs.

First her stomach. After that, it will start circulating in her liver and intestines and that will give her the worst belly ache of her life. After that, it'll climb up to her lungs. When that happens, every breath will feel like a nose full of wasabi sauce. Pretty soon after that, her heart will start to get affected. Every beat will feel like a knife stab to the chest.

Needless to say, she wasn't looking forward to the next several hours.

"Normally, I'm not one to be generous," said a familiar voice from to top of the pit. Kurage recognized it as the voice of that obnoxious, self-described businessman. "But we're actually on a tight schedule and I'd be immensely grateful if you would just give us the information we need. Where will the _Aoigakure_ appear next?"

Kurage stared up into his shadowed form. "...Go away."

"Now don't be like that. As much as I don't like you, I hate watching people in misery. Ruins my appetite. So let's just end this for you and cooperate with each other."

"Go screw yourself."

A pause. And then a heavy sigh. "Yuuto warned me you'd likely be stubborn."

"As if I'd yield to scum like you. What the heck do you want from our village so badly, anyway?"

She could see a mischievous smile even in this lack of light. "Do you really want to know? Oh, might as well. I doubt you'll care so much once the venom is in full effect."

Kurage cringed. This guy was a bigger asshole than she had first thought.

"You see," he started, "you're village, to anyone who knows, is famous for raising unique species of plants and animals. From these, you harvest unique substances with varying application in both medicine and warfare...as I'm sure you know. And while you guys are known to sell a sample or two once every decade, when you feel like it, the world at large has yet to know about you village's grand advances with your unique wildlife."

"That's because the outside world is full of jerks like you!"

"Well, not accounting for myself. There's a great interest in your village's stuff from just about every warlord from here to the north pole. And like grandpa used to say, with great interest comes great business."

"Tell them to hire ninjas. That's what they're there for."

"Oh, that's the thing, my sweet. Try to think of this from a business perspective. You know why wars are expensive? Because ninjas are expensive! Why are ninjas expensive? Because they spend half their entire lifetime training themselves to the best of their abilities. Training that occurs in state-run academies walled behind hidden villages. Another reason why they're expensive is because ninjas are so rare. In the total world population, only a fraction actually posses the proper amount of chakra and ability to control it to become a career ninja. And of that, only about half actually receive formal training in ninjutsu. And since many ninja clans like to be isolated, premiums on ninja wares tend to shoot up whenever there's a huge demand for them."

"What does this have anything to do with my village's stuffs?"

"Your village's success in biological products, comes down to their ability to farm all these unique wildlife. And while not just any idiot can learn to become a ninja...any idiot can learn how to farm."

The businessman let that last statement sink in. Kurage slowly started to understand. He face twisted in a combination of anger and disgust. "So...you want to steal our villages secretes and mass produce biological weapons for quick and easy war?"

"So you understand?" asked the businessman. "If we can steal your village's secrets, we can mass produce all that wonderful, affordable, completely renewable, weapons of mass genocide. What warlord would not want such a thing? Ninjas will become passe."

"You people are insane!"

"It's just good business ethics."

"No human ethics?"

"That doesn't make me money."

"We will stop you! My brother is out there right now and when he finds out about this. He will stop you! We will not allow you to pervert our achievements like this! Our village's proud legacy will not end up as mere terrorist weapons!"

The businessman chuckled. "So you say. But we did think of that. Yuuto is out there right now as well and he has back-up. We knew we were being searched for. You're here aren't you? Since we already have you, all we need to do is take care of your brother and that little annoyance of an student he has."

Kurage's eyes went wide. She tried to hide her worried look. "Do...Do not underestimate my brother!"

"And do not underestimate my men. Barring any interference I seriously doubt even someone as capable as you're brother can last long."

"You...yoo don't know that for sure."

The businessman laughed. "You really are an optimist, aren't you? As if you are in any position to say anything. But I can see you're still not willing to cooperate. Too bad. Well, I'll come back later then. I'm sure you'll be more willling to see things my way when the time comes."

"Wait! Hold it! Tell me more about your plan! What will you do to my village?"

But it was too late. The businessman was already walking away, ignoring her completely. Kurage could hear his footsteps echo as the get further away. In seconds, she was all alone again.

Kurage slumped down against the wall, defeated. There was nothing she could do now. He chakra reserve was next to empty, she didn't have any equipment. She had no choice but to leave her hopes out with Iwakami and that he finds some help soon.

While the venom was painful, the worry she felt for her brother and Satoshi was hurting all the same. They had been sent here to investigate some strange activity. Activity that their village elders noticed when suspicious amounts of bandit activity started up in the area and some of their villages rarest medicines were stolen. They had traced some of that medicine to the town and began investigations.

It was her fault she was in this mess. She had acted rashly, pursuing a suspected bandit by herself, assuming that the single bandit was no real danger. However, she never really counted on the bandits working together with rogue ninjas from her village. They were on to the team. The bandit she was following was bait that lured her into a trap. And here she was.

She felt shame. Her brother had taught her better than this and she let her overconfidence get the better of her. Now her brother and Satoshi could be needing her help right now and she could do nothing about it. She should've stick with the team. Always stick with the team.

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Meanwhile, in the woods.

The combined group of the Leaf nin plus Yuudai and Satoshi were tree-hopping all the way to their target destination. What distance Iwakami walked in nearly thirteen hours, the ninjas could tree-hop in less than two. In the east, the sun was beginning rise, coating the sky above them in a soft blue tone.

"By the way," said Yuudai to Sakura. "I need to thank you."

"For what?" she asked.

"That ambush back there was clearly meant for just me and Satoshi. Had you guys not been there I'm not sure if I would've made it out of there alive...Or if I did, I would still be able to help my sister."

"Well, those jerks did underestimate me. It's not like I didn't want to beat them like that. And besides..."

Sakura hesitated in finishing her statement. Yuudai threw her a pacing glance to see what was up. Sakura's expression showed a certain degree of sadness and regret. A lesser person wouldn't have picked up those subtle expressions.

"What is it?" he asked, hoping he wasn't being too rude.

"...Let's just say, I know what it feels like to loose a teammate...and then want nothing more than to bring that person back so that we could all be together again."

A silence followed. Yuudai decided not to press anymore and simply gave an understanding nod and the conversation ended there. Not that there was any time for conversation anyway since they had reach their target.

"Here it is!" exclaimed Iwakami, who was still on top of Satoshi's head.

The six ninja stopped and gathered at a tree top overlooking a sloping mountain face just as the woods were ending. Where the trees ended, the rocky mountain face sloped up about thirty degrees. Up the slope the, trees became sorter and were slowly replaced by bushes as you moved up.

At about two hundred yards up the slope, they could see it: A cave entrance guarded by four burly looking men carrying heavy looking weapons. Just as Iwakami described to them on the way, this was the bandits' hideout. This was where Kurage was imprisoned. The six ninja looked towards each other silently affirming that they were ready. They had already discussed a plan now it was simply a matter of pulling it off. The younger nin tried to hide their nervousness as much as possible.

"Okay," said Yuudai. "Let's move."

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Author's note: I was originally thinking of making Sakura's fight a little longer but I decided the story should be more of the focus of this chapter. I'll just save the best fight scenes for later. As you can see from the plot of the bandits about selling bio-based weapons, I am taking some story elements from the Resident Evil franchise. The character of 'the businessman' who Kurage talks to is actually loosely based on Irving from RE5 (which, believe it or not, was the initial inspiration for this whole story). More of him will be revealed later chapters.


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